^ 



!^' 




Class 

BnoLiJ_l ^11- 



COPWKJHT utr-jsir. 




WILLIAM J. Mcknight. 



^7^^ A PIONEER HISTORY ^^^4 



OF 



Jefferson County, Pennsylvania 



AND 



MY FIRST RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, 

1840-1843, WHEN MY FEET WERE BARE AND 

MY CHEEKS WERE BROWN 



wi^j/mcknight, IVl.D. 

1' 

BROOKVIIXE, PA. 






PHILADELPHIA 

PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
i8q<S 



t»^ 



Fl57 
.J4M1 



Copyright, 1898, 

BY 

W. J. McKnight, M.D. 



c; 



OC"f 



■;\yEO< 



TO MY 

FATHER AND MOTHER 

THESE PAGES ARE 

AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED 



PREFACE. 



To write a pioneer history of a single county years and years after all 
the fathers and mothers have gone to that "country from whose bourn 
no traveller returns" is a task to appall the most courageous. To say it 
mildlv. it is a task requiring avast amount of labor and research, untiring 
perseverance, great patience, and discrimination. In undertaking this 
task I realized its magnitude, and all through the work I have determined 
that, if labor, patience, and perseverance would overcome error and false 
traditions and establish the truth, the object of this book would be fully 
attained. This book is not written for gain, nor to laud or puff either the 
dead or the living. It is designed to be a plain, truthful narrative of the 
pioneer men and events of Jefferson County. I have compiled, wherever 
I could, from the writings of others. 

I am indebted to the following historical works, — viz., "Jefferson 
County Atlas," "Jefferson County History," Day's " Historical Recol- 
lections," Egle's " History of Pennsylvania," W. C. Elliott's "History 
of Reynoldsville," and the county histories of Indiana, Armstrong, Elk, 
Centre, Lycoming, Venango, Crawford, and Northumberland ; also to 
many individuals. I am greatly indebted to the late Mr. G. B. Good- 
lander, of Clearfield, for a comi)lete file of the Brookvillc Republican for 
the vear 1837, to Clarence M. Barrett for a file of the Republican for 1834, 
and also to the Ladies' Home Journal of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

In every instance, as far as possible, credit has been given to the 
writings of those who have preceded me. But, dear reader, 

" Whoever thinks a fauhless work to see, 
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be. 
In every work regard the writer's end, 
Since none can compass more than they intend, 
And if the means be just, the conduct true, 
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due.'' 

W. J. McKnight. 
Brookville, Pennsvlvania. 

3 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Introductory — Times, Privileges, Social Habits of the Pioneers, Chris- 
tianity OF THOSE DAYS, ETC 9 



CHAPTER II. 

Our Aborigines — The Iroquois, or Six Nations — Indian Towns, Villages, 
Graveyards, Customs, Dress, Huts, Medicines, Doctors, Bark- 
Peelers, Burials, etc 12 



CHAPTER III. 

The Wilderness in 1755 — The Savage Indian — Marie Le Roy and Bar- 
bara Leininger, the First White Pioneers to Tread this Wil- 
derness — The Chinklacamoose Path — Punxsutawney and Kit- 
tanning — Rev. Heckewelder, Rev. Zeisberger, Rev. Ettwein, and 
Rothe 32 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Purchase of 1784 42 

CHAPTER V. 

Titles and Surveys — Pioneer Surveys and Surveyors — District Lines 

run in Northumberland, now Jefferson, County, Pennsylvania 78 

CHAPTER VI. 

Pioneer Animals — Beaver, Buffalo, Elk, Panthers, Wolves, Wild cats. 

Bears, and other Animals — Pens and Traps— Birds— Wild Bees . 8S 

CHAPTER VII. 

Runways, Paths, Trails, Deer Runs and Crossings, Indian Trails — 
The White Man's Path — David and John Me.a.de— Meade's Pack- 
horse Trail — Pioneer Settlement in the Northwest — White 
Boys captured and re.\red by Indi.vns— Pioneer Explorers and 
Settlers 115 

5 



CONTEXTS. 
CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE 

Provision for opening a Road— Report of the Commissioners to the 

Governor— Streams, etc 124 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Old State Road — Early Roads and Trails — Why the State Road 
WAS MADE — The First Attempt to open the Road — Laws, etc., 
touching the Subject — The Survey — The Road completed — The 
Act of the Legislature which sanctioned the Building of the 
Road 137 

CHAPTER X. 

Pioneer Agriculture — How the P'akmers in the Olden Time had to 
makeshift — The Pioneer Homes — Pioneer Food — Pujneer Evening 
Frolics — Trees, Snakes, and Reptiles — Soldiers of 1812 — Pioneer 
Legal Relations of Man and Wife — Early and Pioneer Music 
— List of Taxable Inhabitants in 1820 — The Transportation of 
Iron — The First Screw Factory — Population of the State and 
OF the United States 150 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Erection of the County — Site for County established, and Deed 
FOR Public Lots — Pioneer Court-House and Jail — The Pioneer 
Academy 185 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Common School System — Irs Inception — Introduction into America 
— State Effort — History of Education in the State — Schools 
OF Jefferson County — Progress of Education, etc 199 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Pioneer Missionary Work — The First White Man to travel the Soil 

ok Jefferson County — Revs. Post, Heckewelder, and Others , 229 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Pioneer and Early Churches — Presbyterian the Pioneer Church in 

THE County — The Pidneer Preacher and Church 237 



CHAPTER XV. 

White Slavery — Origin— Nature in Rome, Greece, and Europe — Afri- 
can Slavery in Pennsylvania — George Bryan — Pioneer Colored 
Settler in Jefferson County — Census, etc. — Days of Bondage in 

THIS County 266 

6 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

Pioneer Money 296 

CHAPTER XVII. 

" Scotch-Irish" — Origin of the Term under James I. — Lords and Lairds 
— Early Settlers in Pennsylvania — The Pioneer and Early Set- 
tlers IN Jefferson County 299 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
From 1S30 to 1S40 311 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Pioneer Settlement of Western Pennsylvanl-v — Pioneer Pennsylvania 
Indian Traders — The Pioneer Road by Way of the South 
Branch of the Potomac and the Valley of the Kiskiminitas — 
The Pioneer Road from East to West, from Raysto\vn, now Bed- 
ford, to Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg, a Military Necessity — 
General John Forbes opens it in the Summer and Fall of 1758 
— Colonel George Washington opposed to the New Road and 
IN Favor of the Potom.a.c Road — Death of General John Forbes 
— Pioneer Mail-Coaches, Mail-Routes, and Post-Offices .... 334 

CHAPTER XX. 
Pioneer Roads in Provisional Jefferson County from 180S to 1830 . 346 

CHAPTER XXL 

Pioneer Court — Pioneer Judges — President and Associates — Pioneer 
Bar and Early Lawyers — Minutes of Pioneer Sessions of Court 
— December Session, 1830, and February' Session, 1831 — List of 
Retailers of Foreign Merchandise in the County, February 
Sessions, 1831 — Early Constables 364 

CHAPTER XXI I. 

The Pioneer Physician in the County, Dr. John W. Jenks, of Punx- 
suTAWNEY — The Pioneer Physician on the Little Toby, Dr. 
Nichols — Other Early Physicians, Dr. Evans, Dr. Prime, Dr. 
Darling, Dr. Bishop, Dr. A. M. Clarke, Dr. James Dowling, Dr. 
William Bennett — Pioneer Major Operation in Surgery in 1S21 
— Early Rides, Fees, etc 391 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Pioneer Townships and Boroughs and Pioneer Taxables 396 

7 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XXIV. 

PAGE 

Pioneer NE^YSPAPER in the West — Pioneer Newspaper in the County — 

Terms— Early Market— Other Papers 407 

CHAPTER XXV, 
Militia and Townships . 4^4 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
My First Recollections of Brookville 512 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

CoRNPLANTER— Our Chief — Chief of the Senecas, one of the Six Na- 
tions — Brief History — Some Speeches — Life and Death — Moses 
Knapp — Saw-Mills— John Jones 560 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Joseph Barnett — Biographical Sketch of the Patriarch of Jefferson 

County 570 

Appendix 593 



A PIONEER HISTORY 



OF 



JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY TliMES, PRIVILEGES, SOCIAL HABITS OF THE PIONEERS, 

CHRISTIANITY OF THOSE DAYS, ETC. 

At this time all the pioneers have passed away, and the facts here 
given are collected from records and recollections. Every true citizen 
now and in the future of Jefferson County must ever possess a feeling of 
deep veneration for the brave men and courageous women who penetrated 
this wilderness and inaugurated civilization where savages and wild beasts 
reigned supreme. These heroic men and women migrated to this wilder- 
ness and endured all the hardships incidental to that day and life, and 
through these labors and tribulations they have transmitted to us all the 
comforts and conveniences of a high civilization. When pioneers pass 
off a given spot they disappear from that locality forever. This county 
was redeemed by the Barnetts, Scotts, and others. We will know them 
or their like no more forever. The graves have closed over all these 
pioneer men and women, and I have been deprived of the great assistance 
they could have been to me in writing this history. 

In iSoo, when Joseph Barnett settled on Mill Creek, then Lycoming 
County, the United States contained a population of five million three 
hundred and five thousand nine hundred and twenty-five people. Now, 
in 1890, we have sixty-two million six hundred and twenty-two thousand 
two hundred and fifty. 

Men at this time wore no beard, whiskers, or moustaches, a full beard 
being held as fitted only for heathen or Turks. 

In iSoo Philadelphia and New York were but overgrown villages, and 

Chicago was unknown. Books were few and costly, ignorance the rule, 

and authors famed the world over now were then unborn ; now we 

spend annually one hundred and forty million dollars for schools. Then 

2 9 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

there was no telegraph, telephone, or submarine cable ; now the earth is 
girdled with telegraph wires, and we can speak face to face through the 
telephone a thousand miles apart, and millions of messages are sent every 
year under the waters of the globe. To day in the United States an 
average of one to twelve telegraphic messages are sent every minute, day 
and night, the year through. 

In 1800 emigrants to America came in sailing vessels. E^ach emi- 
grant had to provide his own food, as the vessel supplied only air and 
water. The trip required a period of from thirty days to three months. 
Now this trip can be made by the use of Jefferson County coal in less 
than six days. Now ocean travel is a delight. Then canals for the pas- 
sage of great ships and transatlantic steamers were unknown. 

In iSoo electricity was in its infancy, and travel was by sail, foot, 
horseback, and by coach. Now we have steamers, street-cars, railroads, 
bicycles, and horseless carriages. Gas was unheard of for stoves, streets, 
or lights. Pitch-pine, fat, and tallow candles gave the only light then. 

In 1800 human slavery was universal, and irreligion was the order of 
the day. Nine out of every ten workingmen neither possessed nor ever 
opened a Bible. Hymn-books were unknown, and musical science had 
no system. Medicine was an illiterate theory, surgery a crude art, and 
dentistry unknown. No snap shots were thought of. Photography was 
not heard of. Now this science has revealed " stars invisible" and micro- 
scopic life. 

In 1800 there were but few daily papers in the world, no illustrated 
ones, no humorous ones, and no correspondents. Modern tunnels were 
unknown, and there was no steam heating. Flint and tinder did duty 
for matches. Plate-glass was a luxury undreamed of. Envelopes had not 
been invented, and postage-stamps had not been introduced. Vulcan- 
ized rubber and celluloid had not begun to appear in a hundred dainty 
forms. Stationary wash-tubs, and even wash-boards, were unknown. 
Carpets, furniture, and household accessories were expensive. Sewing- 
machines had not yet supplanted the needle. Aniline colors and coal- 
tar products were things of the future. Stem-winding watches had not 
appeared ; there were no cheap watches of any kind. So it was with 
hundreds of the necessities of our present life. 

" In the social customs of our day, many minds entertain doubts 
whether we have made improvements upon those of our ancestors. In 
those days friends and neighbors could meet together and enjoy them- 
selves, and enter into the spirit of social amusement with a hearty good- 
will, a geniality of manners, a corresponding depth of soul, both among 
the old and young, to which modern society is unaccustomed. Our 
ancestors did not make a special invitation the only pass to their dwell- 
ings, and they entertained those who visited them with a hospitality that 
is not generally practised at the present time. Ciuests did not assemble 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

then to criticise the decorations, furniture, dress, manners, and surround- 
ings of those by whom they were invited. They were sensible people, 
with clear heads and warm hearts ; they visited each other to promote 
mutual enjoyment, and believed in genuine earnestness in all things. 
We may ignore obligations to the pioneer race, and congratulate our- 
selves that our lot has been cast in a more advanced era of mental and 
moral culture ; we may pride ourselves upon the developments which 
have been made in science and art, but while viewing our standard of 
elevation as immeasurably in advance of that of our forefathers, it would 
be well to emulate their great characteristics for hospitality, honor, and 
integrity. 

" The type of Christianity of that period will not suffer by compari- 
son with that of the present day. If the people of olden times had less 
for costly apparel and ostentatious display, they had also more for offices 
of charity and benevolence ; if they did not have the splendor and lux- 
uries of wealth, they at least had no infirmaries or paupers, very few law- 
yers, and but little use for jails. The vain and thoughtless may jeer at 
their unpretending manners and customs, but in all the elements of true 
manhood and true womanhood it may be safely averred that they were 
more than the peers of the generation that now occupy their places. That 
race has left its impress upon our times, — whatever patriotism the present 
generation boasts of has descended from them. Rude and illiterate, 
comparatively, they may have been, but they possessed strong minds in 
strong bodies, made so by their compulsory self-denials, their privations 
and toil. It was the mission of many of them to aid and participate in 
the formation of this great commonwealth, and wisely and well was the 
mission performed. Had their descendants been more faithful to their 
noble teachings, harmony would now reign supreme where violence and 
discord now hold their sway in the land. 

" The pioneer times are the greenest spot in the memories of those who 
lived in them ; the privations and hardships they then endured are con- 
secrated things in the recollection of the survivors." 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER II.* 



OUR ABORICINES — THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS INDIAN TOWNS, VIL- 
LAGES, GRAVEYARDS, CUSTOMS, DRESS, HUTS, INIEDICINES, DOCTORS, 
liARK- PEELERS, BURIALS, ETC. 

AcjUANUscHiONi, or "united people," is what they called themselves. 
The French called them the Iroquois ; the English, the Six Nations. 
They formed a confederate nation, and as such were the most celebrated 
and powerful of all the Indian nations in North America. The confed- 
eracy consisted of the Mohawk, the fire-striking people ; the Oneidas, 
the pipe-makers ; the Onondagas, the hill-top peo- 
ple ; the Cayugas, the people from the lake ; the 
Tuscaroras, unwilling to be with other people ; and 
the Senecas, the mountaineers. 

The Iroquois, or Six Nations, were divided into 
what might be called eight families, — viz., the 
Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Heron, 
and Hawk. Each of the Six Nations had one of 
each of tliese families in their tribe, and all the 
members of that family, no matter how wide apart 
or of what other tribe, were considered as brothers 
and sisters, and were forbidden to marry in their 
own family. Then a wolf was a brother to all 
other wolves in each of the nations. This family 
bond was taught from infancy and enforced by 
public opinion. 
" If at any time there appeared a tendency toward conflict between 
the different tribes, it was instantly checked by the thought that, if per- 
sisted in, the hand of the Turtle must be lifted against his brother Turtle, 
the tomahawk of the Beaver might be buried in the brain of his kinsman 
Beaver. And so potent was the feeling that, for at least two hundred 
years, and until the power of the league was broken by the overwhelming 
outside force of the whites, there was no serious dissension between the 
tribes of the Iroquois. 

" In peace, all jjower was confined to ' sachems ;' in war, to ' chiefs.' 
The sachems of each tribe acted as its rulers in the few matters which 
required the exercise of civil authority. The same rulers also met in 




^-*i;^6u.uk5»^oi>-^ 



* For much in this chapter I am indebted to Rui)))'.-. History. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

council to direct the affairs of the confederacy. There were fifty in all, 
of whom the Mohawks had nine, the Oneidas nine, the Onondagas four- 
teen, the Cayugas ten, and the Senecas eight. These numbers, however, 
did not give proportionate power in the councils of the league, for all the 
nations were equal there. There was in each tribe, too, the same num- 
ber of war-chiefs as sachems, and these had absolute authority in time of 
war. When a council assembled, each sachem had a war-chief near him 
to execute his orders. But in a war-party the war-chief commanded and 
the sachem took his place in the ranks. This was the system in its 
simplicity. 

" The right of heirship, as among many other of the North America 
tribes of Indians, was in the female line. A man's heirs were his 
brother, — that is to say, his mother's son and his sister's son, — never his 
own son, nor his brother's son. The few articles which constituted an 
Indian's personal property — even his bow and tomahawk — never de- 
scended to the son of him who had wielded them. Titles, so far as they 
were hereditary at all, followed the same law of descent. The child also 
followed the clan and tribe of the mother. The object was evidently to 
secure greater certainty that the heir would be of the blood of his de- 
ceased kinsman. The result of the application of this rule to the Iroquois 
system of clans was that if a particular sachemship or chieftaincy was 
once established in a certain clan of a certain tribe, in that clan and tribe 
it was expected to remain forever. Exactly how it was filled when it 
became vacant is a matter of some doubt ; but, as near as can be learned, 
the new official was elected by the warriors of the clan, and was then 
inaugurated by the council of sachems. 

"If, for instance, a sachemship belonging to the Wolf clan of the 
Seneca tribe became vacant, it could only be filled by some one of the 
Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. A clan council was called and, as a gen- 
eral rule, the heir of the deceased was chosen to his place, — to wit, one 
of his brothers, reckoning only on the mother's side, or one of his sister's 
sons, or even some more distant male relative in the female line. But 
there was no positive law, and the warriors might discard all these and 
elect some one entirely unconnected with the deceased, though, as before 
stated, he must be of the same clan and tribe. While there was no un- 
changeable custom compelling the clan council to select one of the heirs 
of the deceased as his successor, yet the tendency was so strong in that 
direction that an infant was frequently chosen, a guardian being ap- 
pointed to perform the functions of the office till the youth should reach 
the proper age to do so. All offices were held for life, unless the incum- 
bent was solemnly deposed by a council, an event which very seldom oc- 
curred. Notwithstanding the modified system of hereditary power in 
vogue, the constitution of every tribe was essentially republican. War- 
riors, old men, and women attended the various councils and made their 

13 



FIOXEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

influence felt. Neither in the government of the confederacy nor of the 
tribes was there any such thing as tyranny over the people, though there 
was a great deal of tyranny by the league over conquered nations. In 
fact, there was very little government of any kind, and very little need 
of any. There was substantially no property interests to guard, all land 
being in common, and each man's personal property being limited to a 
bow, a tomahawk, and a few deer-skins. Liquor had not yet lent its 
disturbing influence, and few quarrels were to be traced to the influence 
of women, for the American Indian is singularly free from the warmer 
passions. 

"His principal vice is an easily aroused and unlimited hatred ; but 
the tribes were so small and enemies so convenient that there was no dif- 
ficulty in gratifying this feeling (and attaining to the rank of a warrior) 
outside of his own nation. The consequence was that although the war- 
parties of the Iroquois were continually shedding the blood of their foes, 
there was very little quarrelling at home. 

" Their religious creed was limited to a somewhat vague belief in the 
existence of a Great Spirit and several inferior but very potent evil spirits. 
They had a few simple ceremonies, consisting largely of dances, one called 
the ' green- corn dance,' performed at the time indicated by its name, and 
others at other seasons of the year. From a very early date their most 
important religious ceremony has been the 'burning of the white dog,' 
when an unfortunate canine of the requisite color is sacrificed by one of 
the chiefs. To this day the pagans among them still perform this rite. 

" In common with their fellow-savages on this continent, the Iroquois 
have been termed ' fast friends and bitter enemies.' Events have proved, 
however, that they were a great deal stronger enemies than friends. Re- 
venge was the ruling passion of their nature, and cruelty was their abiding 
characteristic. Eevenge and cruelty are the worst attributes of human 
nature, and it is idle to talk of the goodness of men who roasted their 
captives at the stake. All Indians were faithful to their own tribes, and 
the Iroquois were faithful to their confederacy ; but outside of these 
limits their friendship could not be counted on, and treachery was always 
to be apprehended in dealing w^th them. 

" In their family relations they were not harsh to their children and 
not wantonly so to their wives ; but the men were invariably indolent, 
and all labor was contemptuously abandoned to their weaker sex. 

" Polygamy, too, was practised, though in what might be called 
moderation. Chiefs and eminent warriors usually had two or three 
wives, rarely more. They could be discarded at will by their husbands, 
but the latter seldom availed themselves of their privilege. 

" Our nation — the Senecas — was the most numerous and comprised 
the greatest warriors of the Iroquois confederacy. Their great chiefs, 
Cornplanter and (iuyasutha, are prominently connected with the tradi- 

14 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tions of the head -waters of the Allegheny, Western New York, and North- 
western Pennsylvania. In person the Senecas were slender, middle-sized, 
handsome, and straight. I'he squaws were short, not handsome, and 
clumsy. The skin was a reddish brown, hair straight and jet-black." 

There was a village of Indians at Summerville, one at Brookville, 
and as late as 1S15 there were six hundred Indians living between Brook- 
ville and New Bethlehem. There was a village at Port Barnett, at Rey- 
noldsville, at Big Run, and a big one at Punxsutawney. The country was 




Indian wigwam. 



thickly inhabited, especially what is now Warsaw. Their graveyards or 
burial-places were always some distance from huts or villages. There was 
one on the Temple farm, in what is now Warsaw ; one on Mill Creek, at 
its junction with the Big Toby Creek, in what was afterwards Ridgway 
township. They carried their dead sometimes a long way for burial. 

" After the death of a Seneca, the corpse was dressed in a new blanket 
or petticoat, with the face and clothes painted red. The body was then 
laid on a skin in the middle of the hut. The war and hunting imple- 
ments of the deceased were then piled up around the body. In the even- 
ing after sunset, and in the morning before daylight, the squaws and rela- 
tions assembled around the corpse to mourn. This was daily repeated 
until interment. The graves were dug by old squaws, as the young 
squaws abhorred this kind of labor. Before they had hatchets and other 
tools, they used to line the inside of the grave with the bark of trees, and 
when the corpse was let down they placed some pieces of wood across, 

15 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

which were again covered with bark, and then the earth thrown in, to 
fill up the grave. lUit afterwards they usually placed three boards, not 
nailed together, over the grave, in such a manner that the corpse lay 
between them. A fourth board was placed as a cover, and then the 
grave was filled up with earth. Now and then a proper coffin was 
procured. 

"At an early period they used to put a tobacco-pouch, knife, tinder- 
box, tobacco and pipe, bow and arrows, gun, pow^der and shot, skins, 
and cloth for clothes, paint, a small bag of Indian corn or dried bilber- 
ries, sometimes the kettle, hatchet, and other furniture of the deceased, 
into the grave, supposing that the departed spirits would have the same 
wants and occupation in the land of souls. But this custom was nearly 
wholly abolished among the Delawares and Iroquois about the middle of 
the last century. At the burial not a man shed a tear ; they deemed it a 
shame for a man to weep. But, on the other hand, the women set up a 
dreadful howl." 

THE ORIGINAL BARK-PEELERS. 

An Indian hut was built in this manner. Trees were peeled abound- 
ing in sap, usually the linn. When the trees were cut down the bark was 
peeled with the tomahawk and its handle. They peeled from the top of 
the tree to the butt. The bark for hut-building was cut into pieces of six 
or eight feet ; these pieces were then dried and flattened by laying heavy 
stones upon them. The frame of a bark hut was made by driving poles 
into the ground and the poles were strengthened by cross-beams. This 
frame was then covered inside and outside with this prepared linnwood 
bark, fastened with leatherwood bark or hickory withes. The roof ran 
upon a ridge, and was covered in the ^ame manner as the frame, and an 
opening was left in it for the smoke to escape, and one on the side of the 
frame for a door. 

now THE INDIAN BUILT LOG HUTS IN HIS TOWN OR VILLAGE. 

They cut logs fifteen feet long and laid these logs upon each other, at 
each end they drove posts in the ground and tied these posts together at 
the top with hickory withes or moose bark. In this way they erected a 
wall of logs fifteen feet long to the height of four feet. In this same 
way they raised a wall opposite to this one about twelve feet away. In 
the centre of each end of this log frame they drove forks into the ground, 
a strong pole was then laid upon these forks, extending from end to end, 
and from these log walls they set up poles for rafters to the centre-pole ; 
on these improvised rafters they tied poles for sheeting, and the hut was 
then covered or shingled with linnwood bark. This bark was peeled 
from the tiee, commencing at the to|), with a tomahawk. The bark-strips 

i6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in this way were sometimes thirty feet long and usually six inches wide. 
I'hese strips were cut as desired for roofing. 

At each end of the hut they set up split lumber, leaving an open space 
at each end for a door-way, at which a bear -skin hung. A stick leaning 
against the outside of this skin meant that the door was locked. At the 
top of the hut, in place of a chimney, they left an open place. The 
fires were made in the inside of the hut, and the smoke escaped through 
this open space. For bedding they had linnwood bark covered with 
bear skins. Open places between logs the scjuaws stopped with moss 
gathered from old logs. 

There was no door, no windoVv's, and no chimney. Several families 
occupied a hut, hence they built them long. Other Indian nations 
erected smaller huts, and the families lived separate. The men wore a 
blanket and went bare-headed. The women wore a petticoat, fastened 
about the hips, extending a little below the knees. 

Our nation, the Senecas, produced the greatest orators, and more of 
them than any other. Cornplanter, Red Jacket, and Farmer's Brother 
were all Senecas. Red Jacket once, in enumerating the woes of the Sen- 
ecas, exclaimed, — 

" We stand on a small island in the bosom of the great waters. ^Ve 
are encircled, we are encompassed. The evil spirit rides on the blast, 
and the waters are disturbed. They rise, they press upon us, and the 
waters once settled over us, we disappear forever. Who then lives to 
mourn us ? None. What marks our extinction ? Nothing. We are 
mingled with the common elements." 

The following is an extract from an address delivered by Cornplanter 
to General Washington in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1790: 

" Father, — When you kindled your thirteen fires separately the wise 
men assembled at them told us that you were all brothers, the children 
of one Great Father, who regarded the red people as his children. They 
called us brothers, and invited us to his protection. They told us he resided 
beyond the great waters where the sun first rises, and he was a king wliose 
power no people could resist, and that his goodness was as bright as the 
sun. What they said went to our hearts. We accepted the invitations 
and promised to obey him. What the Seneca nation promises they faith- 
fully perform. When you refused obedience to that king he commanded 
us to assist his beloved men in making you sober. In obeying him we 
did no more than yourselves had bid us to promise. We were deceived ; 
but your people, teaching us to confide in that king, had helped to 
deceive us, and we now appeal to your breast. Is all the blame ours ? 

" You told us you could crush us to nothing, and you demanded from 
us a great country as the price of that peace which you had offered us, as 
if our want of strength had destroyed our rights." 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Drunkenness, after the whites were dealing with them, was a com- 
mon vice. It was not confined, as it is at this day among the whites, 
principally to the 'strong-minded,' the male sex ; but the Indian female, 
as well as the male, was infatuated alike with the love of strong drink ; 
for neither of them knew bounds to their desire : they drank while they 
had whiskey or could swallow it down. Drunkenness was a vice, though 
attended with many serious consequences, nay, murder and death, that 
was not punishable among them. It was a fashionable vice. Fornica- 
tion, adultery, stealing, lying, and cheating, principally the offspring of 
drunkenness, were considered as heinous and scandalous offences, and 
were punished in various ways. 

" The Delawares and Iroquois married early in life ; the men usually 
at eighteen and the women at fourteen ; but they never married near 
relations. If an Indian man wished to marry he sent a present, consist- 
ing of blankets, cloth, linen, and occasionally a few belts of wampum, to 
the nearest relations of the person he had fixed upon. If he that made the 
present, and the present pleased, the matter was formally proposed to the 
girl, and if the answer was affirmatively given, the bride was conducted 
to the bridegroom's dwelling without any further ceremony ; but if the 
other party chose to decline the proposal, they returned the present by 
way of a friendly negative. 

"After the marriage, the present made by the suitor was divided 
among the friends of the young wife. These returned the civility by a 
present of Indian corn, beans, kettles, baskets, hatchets, etc., brought in 
solemn procession into the hut of the new married couple. The latter 
commonly lodged in a friend's house till they could erect a dwelling of 
their own. 

"As soon as a child was born,jt was laid upon a board or straight 
piece of bark covered with moss and wrapped up in a skin or piece of 
cloth, and when the mother was engaged in her housework this rude 
cradle or bed was hung to a peg or branch of a tree. Their children 
they educated to fit them to get through the world as did their fathers. 
They instructed them in religion, etc. They believed that Manitou, their 
God, 'the good spirit,' could be propitiated by sacrifices; hence they 
observed a great many superstitious and idolatrous ceremonies. At their 
general and solemn sacrifices the oldest men performed the offices of 
priests, but in private parties each man brought a sacrifice, and offered it 
himself as priest. Instead of a temple they fitted up a large dwelling- 
house for the purpose. 

"When they travelled or went on a journey they manifested much 
carelessness about the weather ; yet, in their prayers, they usually begged 
'for a clear and pleasant sky.' They generally provided themselves 
with Indian meal, which they either ate dry, mixed with sugar and water, 
or boiled into a kind of musli ; for they never took bread made of Indian 

i8 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

corn for a long journey, because in summer it would spoil in three or four 
days and be unfit for use. As to meat, that they took as they went. 

" If in their travels they had occasion to pass a deep river, on arriving 
at it they set about it immediately and built a canoe by taking a long 
piece of bark of proportionate breadth, to which they gave the proper 
form by fastening it to ribs of light wood, bent so as to suit the occasion. 
If a large canoe was required, several pieces of bark were carefully sewed 
together. If the voyage was expected to be long, many Indians carried 




Indians moving. 

everything they wanted for their night's lodging with them, — namely, 
some slender poles and rush- mats, or birch bark." 

When at home they had their amusements. Their favorite one was 
dancing. " The common dance was held either in a large house or in an 
open field around a fire. In dancing they formed a circle, and always 
had a leader, to whom the whole company attended. The men went 
before, and the women closed the circle. The latter danced with great 
decency and as if they were engaged in the most serious business ; while 
thus engaged they never spoke a word to the men, much less joked with 
them, which would have injured their character. 

"Another kind of dance was only attended by men. Each rose in 
his turn, and danced with great agility and boldness, extolling their own 
or their forefathers' great deeds in a song, to which all beat time, by a 
monotonous, rough note, which was given out with great vehemence at 
the commencement of each bar. 

" The war-dance, which was always held either before or after a cam- 
paign, was dreadful to behold. None took part in it but the warriors 
themselves. They appeared armed, as if going to battle. One carried 
his gun or hatchet, another a long knife, the third a tomahawk, the fourth 

19 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

a large club, or they all appeared armed with tomahawks. These they 
brandished in the air, to show how they intended to treat their enemies. 
They affected such an air of anger and fury on this occasion that it made 
a spectator shudder to behold them. A chief led the dance, and sang 
the warlike deeds of himself or his ancestors. At the end of every cele- 
brated feat of valor he wielded his tomahawk with all his might against 
a post fixed in the ground. He was then followed by the rest ; each 
finished his round by a blow against the post. Then they danced all 
together ; and this was the most frightful scene. They affected the most 
horrible and dreadful gestures ; threatened to beat, cut, and stab each 
other. They were, however, amazingly dexterous in avoiding the threat- 
ened danger. To complete the horror of the scene, they howled as 
dreadfully as if in actual fight, so that they appeared as raving madmen. 
During the dance they sometimes sounded a kind of fife, made of reed, 
which had a shrill and disagreeable note. The Iroquois used the war- 
dance even in times of peace, with a view to celebrate the deeds of their 
heroic chiefs in a solemn manner. 

"The Indians, as well as 'all human flesh,' were heirs of disease. 
The most common were pleurisy, weakness and pains in the stomach and 
breast, consumption, diarrhoea, rheumatism, bloody flux, inflammatory 
fevers, and occasionally the small-pox made dreadful ravages among 
them. Their general remedy for all disorders, small or great, was a 
sweat. For this purpose they had in every town an oven, situated at 
some distance from the dwellings, built of stakes and boards, covered 
with sods, or were dug in the side of a hill, and heated with some red- 
hot stones. Into this the patient crept naked, and in a short time was 
thrown into profuse perspiration.^ As soon as the patient felt himself 
too hot he crept out, and immediately plunged himself into a river or 
some cold water, where he continued about thirty seconds, and then 
went again into the oven. After having performed this operation three 
times successively, he smoked his ])ipe with composure, and in many cases 
a cure was completely effected. 

" In some places they had ovens constructed large enough to receive 
several persons. Some chose to pour water now and then upon the 
heated stones, to increase the steam and promote more profuse perspira- 
tion. Many Indians in perfect health made it a practice of going into 
the oven once or twice a week to renew their strength and spirits. Some 
pretended by this operation to prepare themselves for a business which 
requires mature deliberation and artifice. If the sweating did not remove 
the disorder, other means were applied. Many of the Indians believed 
that medicines had no efficacy unless administered by a professed physi- 
cian ; enough of professed doctors could be found ; many of both sexes 
profe.ssed to be doctors. 

" Indian doctors never applied medicines without accompanying them 

20 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

with mysterious ceremonies, to make their effect appear supernatural. The 
ceremonies were various. Many breathed upon the sick ; they averred 
their breath was wholesome. In addition to this, they spurted a certain 
liquor made of herbs out of their mouth over the patient's whole body, 
distorting their features and roaring dreadfully. In some instances physi- 
cians crept into the oven, where they sweat, howled, roared, and now 
and then grinned horribly at their patients, who had been laid before the 
opening, and frequently felt the pulse of the patient. Then pronounced 
sentence, and foretold either their recovery or death. On one occasion 
a Moravian missionary was present, who says, ' An Indian physician had 
put on a large bear skin, so that his arms were covered with the fore legs, 
his feet with the hind legs, and his head was entirely concealed in the 
bear's head, with the addition of glass eyes. He came in this attire with 
a calabash in his hand, accompanied by a great crowd of people, into the 
patient's hut, singing and dancing, when he grasped a handful of hot 
ashes, and scattering them into the air, with a horrid noise, approached 
the patient, and began to play several legerdemain tricks with small 
bits of wood, by which he pretended to be able to restore him to 
health.' 

"The common people believed that by rattling the calabash the 
physician had power to make the spirits discover the cause of the disease, 
and even evade the malice of the evil spirit who occasioned it. 

" Their materia medica, or the remedies used in curing diseases, were 
such as rattlesnake-root, the skins of rattlesnakes dried and pulverized, 
thorny ash, toothache-tree, tulip-tree, dogwood, wild laurel, sassafras, 
Canada shrubby elder, poison-ash, wintergreen, liverwort, Virginia poke, 
jalap, sarsaparilla, Canadian sanicle, scabians or devil's-bit, bloodwort, 
cuckoo pint, ginseng, and a (ew others. 

"Wars among the Indians were always carried on with the greatest 
fury, and lasted much longer than they do now among them. The offen- 
sive weapons were, before the whites came among them, bows, arrows, 
and clubs. The latter were made of the hardest kind of wood, from 
two to three feet long and very heavy, with a large round knob at one 
end. Their weapon of defence was a shield, made of the tough hide of 
a buffalo, on the convex side of which they received the arrows and 
darts of the enemy. But about the middle of the last century this was 
all laid aside by the Delawares and Iroquois, though they used to a later 
period bows, arrows, and clubs of war. The clubs they used were pointed 
with nails and pieces of iron, when used at all. Guns were measurably 
substituted for all these. The hatchet and long-knife was used, as well 
as the gun. The army of these nations consisted of all their young men, 
including boys of fifteen years old. They had their captains and subor- 
dinate officers. I'heir captains would be called among them com- 
manders or generals. The requisite qualifications for this station were 

21 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



prudence, cunning, resolution, bravery, undauntedness, and previous 
good fortune in some fight or battle. 

" 'To lift the hatchet,' or to begin a war, was always, as they de- 
clared, not till just and important causes jjrompted them to it. Then 
they assigned as motives that it was necessary to revenge the injuries done 
to the nation. Perhaps the honor of being distinguished as great warriors 
may have been an ' ingredient in the cup.' 

"But before they entered upon so hazardous an undertaking they 
carefully weighed all the proposals made, compared the probable advan- 
tages or disadvantages that might accrue. A chief could not begin a war 
without the consent of his captains, nor could he accept of a war-belt 
only on the condition of its being considered by the captains. 

" The chief was bound to preserve peace to the utmost of his power. 
But if several captains were unanimous in declaring war, the chief was 
then obliged to deliver the care of his people, 
^^^^3: T - - for a time, into the hands of the captains, and 

to lay down his office. Yet his influence tended 
greatly either to prevent or encourage the com- 
mencement of war, for the Indians believed that 
a war could not be successful without the con- 
sent of the chief, and the captains, on that ac- 
count, strove to be in harmony with him. After 
war was agreed on, and they wished to secure the 
assistance of a nation in league with them, they 
notified that nation by sending a piece of to- 
bacco, ©r by an embassy. By the first, they 
intended that the captains were to smoke pipes 
and consider seriously whether they would take 
part in the war or not. The embassy was in- 
trusted to a captain, who carried a belt of wam- 
pum, upon which the object of the embassy was 
described by certain figures, and a hatchet with 
a red handle. After the chief had been in- 
formed of his commission, it was laid before a council. The hatchet 
having been laid on the ground, he delivered a long speech, while hold- 
ing the war-belt in his hand, always closing the address with the request 
to take up the hatchet, and then delivering the war-belt. If this was 
complied with, no more was said, and this act was considered as a solemn 
promise to lend every assistance ; but if neither the hatchet was taken 
up nor the belt accepted, the ambassador drew the just conclusion that 
the nation preferred to remain neutral, and without any further cere- 
mony returned home. 

"The Delawares and Iroquois were very informal in declaring war. 
They often sent out small jiarties, seized the first man they met belong- 

22 




PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ing to the nation they had intended to engage, killed and scalped him, 
then cleaved his head with a hatchet, which they left stick in it, or laid 
a war-club, painted red, upon the body of the victim. This was a formal 
challenge. In consequence of which, a captain of an insulted party would 
take up the weapons of the murderers and hasten into their country, to 
be revenged upon them. If he returned with a scalp, he thought he had 
avenged the rights of his own nation. 

"Among the Delawares and Iroquois it required but little time to 
make preparations for war. One of the most necessary preparations was 
to paint themselves red and black, for they held it that the most horrid 
appearance of war was the greatest ornament. Some captains fasted and 
attended to their dreams, with the view to gain intelligence of the issue 
of the war. The night previous to the march of the army was spent in 
feasting, at which the chiefs were present, when either a hog or some 
dogs were killed. Dog's flesh, said they, inspired them with the genuine 
martial spirit. Even women, in some instances, partook of this feast, and 
ate dog's flesh greedily. Now and then, when a warrior was induced to 
make a solemn declaration of his war inclination, he held up a piece of 
dog's flesh in sight of all present and devoured it, and pronounced these 
words, ' Thus will I devour my enemies!' After the feast the captain 
and all his people began the war-dance, and continued till daybreak, till 
they had become quite hoarse and weary. They generally danced all 
together, and each in his turn took the head of a hog in his hand. As 
both their friends and the women generally accompanied them to the first 
night's encampment, they halted about two or three miles from the town, 
danced the war-dance once more, and the day following began their march. 
Before they made an attack they reconnoitred every part of the country. 
To this end they dug holes in the ground ; if practicable, in a hillock, 
covered with wood, in which they kept a small charcoal fire, from which 
they discovered the motions of the enemy undiscovered. When they 
sought a prisoner or a scalp, they ventured, in many instances, even in 
daytime, to execute their designs. Effectually to accomplish this, they 
skulked behind a bulky tree, and crept slyly around the trunk, so as not 
to be observed by the person or persons for whom they lay in ambush. In 
this way they slew many. But if they had a family or town in view, they 
always preferred the night, when their enemies were wrapt in profound 
sleep, and in this way killed, scalped, and made prisoners many of the 
enemies, set fire to the houses, and retired with all possible haste to the 
woods or some place of safe retreat. To avoid pursuit, they disguised 
their footmarks as much as possible. They depended much on stratagem 
for their success. Even in war they thought it more honorable to dis- 
tress their enemy more by stratagem than combat. The English, not 
aware of the artifice of the Indians, lost an army when Braddock was 
defeated. 

23 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"The Indian's cruelty, when victorious, was without bounds; their 
thirst for blood was almost unquenchable. They never made peace till 
compelled by necessity. No sooner were terms of peace proposed than 
the captains laid down their office and delivered the government of the 
state into the hands of the chiefs. A captain had no more right to con- 
clude a peace than a chief to begin war. ^\'hen peace had been offered 
to a captain he could give no other answer than to mention the proposal 
to the chief, for as a warrior he could not make peace. If the chief in- 
clined to peace, he used all his influence to effect that end, and all hos- 
tility ceased, and, in conclusion, the calumet, or peace-pipe, was smoked 
and belts of wampum exchanged, and a concluding speech made, with 
the assurance ' that their friendship should last as long as the sun and 
moon give light, rise and set ; as long as the stars shine in the firmament, 
and the rivers flow with water.' " 

The weapons employed by our Indians two hundred years ago were 
axes, arrows, and knives of stone. Shells were sometimes used to make 
knives. 

The Indian bow was made as follows : the hickory limb was cut with 
a stone axe, the wood was then heated on both sides near a fire until it 
was soft enough to scrape down to the proper size and shape. 

A good bow measured forty six inches in length, three-fourths of an 
inch thick in the centre, and one and a quarter inches in width, narrow- 
ing down to the points to five eighths of inch. The ends were thinner 
than the middle. Bow-making was tedious work. 

" The bow-string was made "of the ligaments obtained from the verte- 
bra of the elk. The ligament was split, scraped, and twisted into a cord 
by rolling the fibres between the palm of the hand and the thigh. One 
end of the string was knotted to the bow but the other end was looped, 
in order that the bow could be quickly strung. ' ' 

Quivers to carry the arrows were made of dressed buckskin, with or 
without the fur. The squaws did all the tanning. 

The arrowheads were made of flint or other hard stone or bone ; 
they were fastened to the ash or hickory arrows with the sinews of the 
deer. The arrow was about two feet and a half in length, and a feather 
was fastened to the butt end to give it a rotary motion in its flight. 

Poisoned arrows were made by dipi)ing them into decomposed liver, 
to which had been added the poison of the rattlesnake. The venom or 
decomposed animal matter no doubt caused blood-poisoning and death. 

Bows and arrows were long used by the red men after the introduc- 
tion of fire-arms, because the Indian could be more sure of his game 
without revealing his presence. For a long time after the introduction 
of fire-arms the Indians were more expert with the bow and arrow than 
with the rifle. 

Their tobacco-pipes were made of stone bowls and ash stems. Canoes 

24 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

were made of birch or linnwood bark, and many wigwam utensils of that 
bark. This bark was peeled in early spring. The bark canoe was the 
American Indian's invention. 

When runners were sent with messages to other tribes the courier took 
an easy running gait, which he kept up for hours at a time. It was a 
"dog-trot," an easy, jogging gait. Of course he had no clothes on 
except a breech-clout and moccasins. He always carried both arms up 
beside the chest with the fists clinched and held in front of the breast. 
He eat but little the day before his departure. A courier could make a 
hundred miles from sunrise to sunset. 

When a young squaw was ready to marry she wore something on her 
head as a notice. 

Then kettles were made of clay, or what was called " pot stone." 

The stone hatchets were in the shape of a wedge ; they were of no use 
in felling trees. They did this with a fire around the roots of the tree. 
Their stone pestles were about twelve inches long and five inches thick. 
They used bird-claws for " fish-hooks." They made their ropes, bridles, 
nets, etc., out of a wild weed called Indian hemp. 

The twine or cords were manufactured by the squaws, who gathered 
stalks of this hemp, separating them into filaments, and then taking a num- 
ber of filaments in one hand, rolled them rapidly upon their bare thighs 
until twisted, locking, from time to time, the ends with fresh fibres. The 
cord thus made was finished by dressing with a mixture of grease and 
wax, and drawn over a smooth groove in a stone. 

Their hominy-mills can be seen yet about a mile north of Samuel 
Temple's barn, in Warsaw township. 

All the stone implements of our Indians except arrows were ground 
and polished. How this was done the reader must imagine. Indians 
had their mechanics and their workshops or " spots" where implements 
were made. You must remember that the Indian had no iron or steel 
tools, only bone, stone, and wood to work with. The flint arrows were 
made from a stone of uniform density. Large chips were flaked or broken 
from the rock. These chips were again deftly chipped with bone chisels 
into arrows, and made straight by pressure. A lever was used on the rock 
to separate chips, — a bone tied to a heavy stick. 

From Jones's " Antiquities of the Southern Indians" the writer has 
gleaned most of the following facts. They had a limited variety of cop- 
per implements, which were of rare occurrence, and which were too soft to 
be of use in working so hard a material as flint or quartzite. Hence it is 
believed that they fashioned their spear- and arrowheads with other im- 
plements than those of iron or steel. They must have acquired, by their 
observation and numerous experiments, a thorough and practical knowl- 
edge of cleavage, — that is, " the tendency to split in certain directions, 
which is characteristic of most of the crystallizable minerals." Captain 
3 25 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

John Smith, speaking of the A'irginia Indians in his sixth voyage, says, 
" His arrow-head he quickly maketh with a httle bone, which he weareth 
at his bracelet, of a splint of a stone or glasse, in the form of a heart, and 
these they glue to the ends of the arrows. With the sinews of the deer 
and the tops of deers' horns boiled to a jelly they make a glue which 
will not dissolve in cold water." Schoolcraft says, " The skill displayed 
in this art, as it is exhibited by the tribes of the entire continent, has 
excited admiration. The material employed is generally some form of 
horn stone, sometimes passing into flint. No specimens have, however, 
been observed where the substance is gun -flint. The horn-stone is less 
hard than common quartz, and can be readily broken by contact with 
the latter." Catlin, in his "Last Ramble among the Indians," says, 
" Every tribe has its factory in which these arrow-heads are made, and in 
these only certain adepts are able or allowed to make them for the use of 
the tribe. Erratic bowlders of flint are collected and sometimes brought 
an immense distance, and broken with a sort of sledge-hammer made of 
a rounded pebble of horn -stone set in a twisted withe, holding the stone 
and forming a handle. The flint, at the indiscriminate blows of the 
sledge, is broken into a hundred pieces, and such flakes selected as from 
the angles of their fracture and thickness will answer as the basis of an 
arrow-head. The master-workman, seated on the ground, lays one of 
these flakes on the palm of his hand, holding it firmly down with two or 
more fingers of the same hand, and with his right hand, between the 
thumb and two forefingers, places his chisel or punch on the point that is 
to be broken off, and a co-operator — a striker — in front of him, with a 
mallet of very hard wood, strikes the chisel or punch on the upper end, 
flaking the flint off on the under side below each projecting point that is 
struck. The flint is then turned and chipped in the same manner from 
the opposite side, and that is chipped until required shape and dimensions 
are obtained, all the fractures being made on the palm of the hand. In 
selecting the flake for the arrow-head a nice judgment must be used or 
the attempt will fail. A flake with two opposite parallel, or nearly par- 
allel, planes of cleavage is found, and of the thickness required for the 
centre of the arrow-point. The first chipping reaches nearly to the cen- 
tre of these planes, but without quite breaking it away, and each clip- 
ping is shorter and shorter, until the shape and edge of the arrow-head 
is formed. The yielding elasticity of the palm of the hand enables the 
chip to come off without breaking the body of the flint, which would be 
the case if they were broken on a hard substance. These people have no 
metallic instruments to work with, and the punch which they use, I was 
told, was a piece of bone, but on examining it, I found it to be of sub- 
stance much harder, made of the tooth — incisor — of the sperm whale, 
which cetaceans are often stranded on the coast of the Pacific." 

"A considerable number of Indians must have returned and settled 

26 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

along the Red Bank as late as 1815-16. James White, of 'Mexico,' 
informed the writer that three hundred of them, about that time, settled 
along this stream below Brookville, partly in Armstrong County. Re- 
specting their return to this section. Dr. M. A. Ward wrote to Eben 
Smith Kelly at Kittanning, from Pittsburg, January iS, 181 7, — 

" 'I am not at all surprised that the sober, industrious, religious in- 
habitants of Red Bank should be highly incensed at their late accession 
of emigrants, not only because by them they will probably be deprived 
of many fat bucks and delicious turkeys, to which, according to the strict 
interpretation of all our game laws, they have as good a right, if they 
have the fortune to find and the address to shoot them, as any "dirty, 
nasty" Indians whatever, but because the presence and examples of such 
neighbors must have a very depraving influence upon the morals. Their 
insinuating influence will be apt to divert the minds of the farmers from 
the sober pursuits of agriculture and inspire a propensity for the barbarous 
pleasures of the chase. . . . But what is worse than all, I have heard that 
they love whiskey to such an inordinate degree as to get sometimes 
beastly drunk, and even beat their wives and behave unseemly before 
their families, which certainly must have a most demoralizing tendency 
on the minds of the rising generation.' " — History of Armstrong County. 
■ The Delaware Indians styled themselves " Lenni Lenape," the original 
or unchanged people. The eastern division of their people was divided 
into three tribes, — the Unamies, or Turtles of the sea-shore ; the Una- 
chlactgos, or Turkeys of the woods ; and the Minsi-monceys, or Wolves of 
the mountains. A few of the Muncy villages of this latter division were 
scattered as far west as the valley of the Allegheny. 

From Penn's arrival in 1682 the Delawares were subject to the Iro- 
quois, or the confederacy of the Six Nations, who were the most warlike 
savages in America. The Iroquois were usually known among the 
English people as the Five Nations. The nations were divided and 
known as the Mohawks, the fire-striking people, having been the first to 
procure fire-arms. The Senecas, mountaineers, occupied Western New 
York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. They were found in great num- 
bers in the Allegheny and its tributaries. Their great chiefs were Corn- 
planter and Guyasutha. This tribe was the most numerous, powerful, and 
warlike of the Iroquois nation, and comprised our Jefferson County Indians. 

"But these were Indians pure and uncorrupted. Before many a log 
fire, at night, old settlers have often recited how clear, distinct, and im- 
mutable were their laws and customs ; that when fully understood a white 
man could transact the most important business with as much safety as 
he can to-day in any commercial centre. 

" In this day and age of progress we pride ourselves upon our rail- 
roads and telegraph as means of rapid communication, and yet, while it 
was well known to the early settlers that news and light freight would 

27 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

travel with incomprehensible speed from tribe to tribe, people of the 
present day fail to understand the complete system by which it was 
done. 

" In many places through the western counties you will find traces of 
pits, which the early settlers will tell you were dug by white men looking 
for silver, which, as well as copper, was common among the Indians, and 
was supposed by first comers to be found in the vicinity ; but experience 
soon proved the copper came, perhaps, from Lake Superior, by this 
Indian express, as we might term it, and the silver, just as possible, from 
the far West. Our railroads wind along the valleys, almost regardless of 
length or circuit, if a gradual rise can only be obtained. To travellers on 
w^heels straight distances between points are much less formidable than is 
generally supposed. We find traces of the example of the Indian in the 
first white men. 'i'he first settlers of 1799 ^^^'^ ^^°5 took their bags of 
grain on their backs, walked fifty miles to the mill in Indiana or Arm- 
strong County, and brought home their flour the same way." 

" The following is taken from the ' Early Days of Punxsutavvney and 
Western Pennsylvania,' contributed a few years ago to the Piinxsutawney 
Plaiudcaler by the late John K. Coxson, Esq., who had made considerable 
research into Indian history, and was an enthusiast on the subject. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Coxson, ' More than eighteen hundred years ago the 
Iroquois held a lodge in Punxsutavvney (this town still bears its Indian 
name, which was their sobriquet for " gnat town"), to which point they 
could ascend with their canoes, and go still higher up the Mahoning to 
within a few hours' travel of the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. 
There were various Indian trails traversing the forests, one of which 
entered Punxsutawney near where Judge Mitchell now resides. 

" ' These trails were the thoroughfares or roadways of the Indians, over 
which they journeyed when on the chase or the "war-path," just as the 
people of the present age travel over their graded roads. " An erroneous 
impression obtains among many at the present day that the Indian, in 
travelling the interminable forests which once covered our towns and 
fields, roamed at random, like a modern afternoon hunter, by no fixed 
paths, or that he was guided in his long journeyings solely by the sun and 
stars, or by the course of the streams and mountains ; and true it is that 
these untutored sons of the woods were considerable astronomers and 
geographers, and relied much upon these unerring guide-marks of nature. 
Even in the most starless nights they could determine their course by feel- 
ing the bark of the oak-trees, which is always smoothest on the south 
side and roughest on the north. Put still they had their trails, or paths, 
as distinctly marked as are our county and State roads, and often better 
located. The white traders adopted them, and often stole their names, 
to be in turn surrendered to the leader of some Anglo Saxon army, and, 
finally, obliterated by some costly highway of travel and commerce. 

28 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

They are now almost wholly effaced or forgotten. Hundreds travel 
along, or plough over them, unconscious that they are in the footsteps of 
the red men." * It has not taken long to obliterate all these Indian land- 
marks from our land ; little more than a century ago the Indians roamed 
over all this western country, and now scarce a vestige of their presence 
remains. Much has been written and said about their deeds of butchery 
and cruelty. True, they were cruel, and in many instances fiendish, in 
their inhuman practices, but they did not meet the first settlers in this 
spirit. Honest, hospitable, religious in their belief, reverencing their 
Manitou, or Great Spirit, and willing to do anything to please their white 
brother, — this is how they met their first white visitors ; but when they 
had seen nearly all their vast domain appropriated by the invaders, when 
wicked white men had introduced into their midst the "wicked fire- 
water," which is to-day the cause of many an act of fiendishness perpe- 
trated by those who are not untutored savages, then the Indian rebelled, 
all the savage in his breast was aroused, and he became pitiless and cruel 
in the extreme. 

" ' It is true that our broad domains were purchased and secured by 
treaty, but the odds were always on the side of the whites. The " Colo- 
nial Records" give an account of the treaty of 1686, by which a deed for 
" walking purchase was executed, by which the Indians sold as far as a 
man could walk in a day. But when the walk was to be made the most 
active white man was obtained, who ran from daylight until dark, as fast 
as he was able, without stopping to eat or drink. This much dissatisfied 
the Indians, who expected to walk leisurely, resting at noon to eat and 
shoot game, and one old chief expressed his dissatisfaction as follows : 
' Lun, lun, lun ; no lay down to drink; no stop to shoot squirrel, but 
lun, lun, lun all day; me no keep up ; lun, lun for land.' That deed, 
it is said, does not now exist, but was confirmed in 1737." 

" ' When the white man came the Indians were a temperate people, 
and their chiefs tried hard to prohibit the sale of intoxicating drinks 
among their tribes; and when one Sylvester Garland, in 1701, intro- 
duced rum among them and induced them to drink, at a council held in 
Philadelphia, Shemekenwhol, chief of the Shawnese, complained to 
Governor William Penn, and at a council held on the 13th of October, 
1 701, this man was held in the sum of one hundred pounds never to deal 
rum to the Indians again ; and the bond and sentence was approved by 
Judge Shippen, of Philadelphia. At the chief's suggestion the council en- 
acted a law prohibiting the trade in rum with the Indians. Still later the 
ruling chiefs of the Six Nations opposed the use of rum, and Red Jacket, 
in a speech at Buffalo, wished that whiskey would never be less than "a 
dollar a quart." He answered the missionary's remarks on drunkenness 



* Judge Veech. 
29 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEFEERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

thus : "Go to the white man with that. ' ' A council, held on the Allegheny 
River, deplored the murder of the Wigden family in Butler County by 
a Seneca Indian while under the influence of whiskey, approved the 
sentence of our law, and again passed their prohibitory resolutions, and 
implored the white man not to give rum to the Indian.' 

"Mr. Coxson claims that the council of the Delawares, Muncys, 
Shawnese, Nanticokes, Tuscorawas, and Mingos, to protest against the 
sale of their domain by the Six Nations, at Albany, in 1754, was held at 
Punxsutawney, and cites Joncaire's ' Notes on Indian Warfare,' ' Life of 
Bezant,' etc. ' It is said they ascended the tributary of La Belle Riviere 
to the mountain village on the way to Chinklacamoose (Clearfield) to 
attend the council.' -^ At that council, though Sheklemas, the Christian 
king of the Delawares, and other Christian chiefs, tried hard to prevent 
the war, they were overruled, and the tribes decided to go to war with 
their French allies against the colony. 'Travellers, as early as 1731, 
reported to the council of the colony of a town sixty miles from the 
Susquehanna.' f 

"'After the failure of the expedition against Fort Duquesne, the 
white captives were taken to Kittanning, Logtown, and Pukeesheno 
(Punxsutawney). The sachem, Pukeesheno (for whom the town was 
called), was the father of Tecumseh and his twin brother, the Prophet, 
and was a Shawnese. We make this digression to add another proof that 
Punxsutawney was named after a Shawnese chief as early as 1750.' ;|; 

" 'I went with Captain Brady on an Indian hunt up the Allegheny 
River. We found a good many signs of the savages, and I believe we 
were so much like the savages (when Brady went on a scouting expedition 
he always dressed in Indian costume) that they could hardly have known 
us from a band of Shawnese. But they had an introduction to us near 
the mouth of Red Bank. General Brodhead was on the route behind 
Captain Brady, who discovered the Indians on a march. He lay con- 
cealed among the rocks until the painted chiefs and their braves had got 
fairly into the narrow pass, when Brady and his men opened a destructive 
fire. The sylvan warriors retuned the volley with terrific yells that shook 
the caverns and mountains from base to crest. The fight was short but 
sanguine. The Indians left the pass and retired, and soon were lost sight 
of in the deepness of the forest. We returned with three children re- 
captured, whose parents had been killed at Greensburg. We immediately 
set out on a path that led us to the mountains, to a lodge the savages had 
near the head-waters of Mahoning and Red Bank. 

" ' We crossed the Mahoning about forty miles from Kittanning, and 
entered a town, which we found deserted. It seemed to be a hamlet, 
built by the Shawnese. From there we went over high and rugged hills, 

* Joncaiie. f Bezant. J History of Western Pennsylvania, p. 302. 

30 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUxNTV, PENNA. 

through laurel thickets, darkened by tall pine and hemlock groves, for 
one whole day, and lay quietly down on the bank of a considerable 
stream (Sandy I.ick). About midnight Brady was aroused by the sound 
of a rifle not far down the creek. We arose and stole quietly along about 
half a mile, when we heard the voices of Indians but a short distance 
below us ; there another creek unites its waters with the one upon whose 
banks we had rested. We ascertained that two Indians had killed a deer 
at a lick. They were trying to strike a light to dress their game. When 
the flame of pine-knots blazed brightly and revealed the visages of the 
savages, Brady appeared to be greatly excited, and perhaps the caution 
that he always took when on a war-path was at that time disregarded. 
Revenge swallowed and absorbed every faculty of his soul. He recog- 
nized the Indian who was foremost, when they chased him, a few months 
before, so closely that he was forced to leap across a chasm of stone on 
the slippery rock twenty-three feet ; between the jaws of granite there 
roared a deep torrent twenty feet deep. When Brady saw Conemah he 
sprang forward and planted his tomahawk in his head. The other Indian, 
who had his knife in his hand, sprang at Brady. The long, bright steel 
glistened in his uplifted hand, when the flash of Farley's rifle was the 
death-light of the brave, who sank to the sands. . . . Brady scalped the 
Indians in a moment, and drew the deer into the thicket to finish dress- 
ing it, but had not completed his undertaking when he heard a noise in 
the branches of the neighboring trees. He sprang forward, quenched 
the flame, and in breathless silence listened for the least sound, but noth- 
ing was heard save the rustling of the leaves, stirred by the wind. One 
of the scouts softly crept along the banks of the creek to catch the 
faintest sound that echoes on the water, when he found a canoe down 
upon the beach. The scout communicated this to Brady, who resolved 
to embark on this craft, if it was large enough to carry the company. It 
was found to be of sufficient size. We all embarked and took the deer 
along. We had not gone forty rods down the stream when the savages 
gave a war-whoop, and about a mile off they were answered with a hun- 
dred voices. We heard them in pursuit as we went dashing down the 
frightful and unknown stream. We gained on them. We heard their 
voices far behind us, until the faint echoes of the hundreds of warriors 
were lost ; but, unexpectedly, we found ourselves passing full fifty canoes 
drawn up on the beach. Brady landed a short distance below. There 
was no time to lose. If the pursuers arrived they might overtake the 
scouts. It was yet night. He took four of his men along, and with 
great caution unmoored the canoes and sent them adrift. The scouts 
below secured them, and succeeded in arriving at Brodhead's quarters 
with the scalps of two Indians and their whole fleet, which disabled them 
much from carrying on their bloody expeditions.' 

" In the legend of Noshaken, the white captive of the Delawares, in 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1753, who was kept at a village supposed to have been Punxsutawney, 
occurs the following : ' The scouts were on the track of the Indians, the 
time of burning of the captives was extended, and the whole band pre- 
pared to depart for Fort Venango with the prisoners. . . . They con- 
tinued on for twenty miles, and encamped by a beautiful spring, where the 
sand boiled up from the bottom near where two creeks unite. Here they 
passed the night, and the next morning again headed for Fort Venango. 

" ' This spring is believed to have been the "sand spring" at Brook- 
ville. Thus both the earlier histories and traditions would lead us to 
believe that Jefferson County was once the scene of Indian occupation. 
The early settlers found many vestiges of them, and even at this late day 
" Indian relics" in the shape of stone tomahawks, flint arrows, darts, etc., 
are frequently found. 

" ' But it was long after these scenes, when Joseph Barnett, the first 
white settler, came into the wilds of what is now Jefferson County. Then 
nearly all the Indians had gone, some toward the setting sun, others 
toward Canada. Of all the tribes that once composed the great Indian 
confederations, only a few Muncies and Senecas of Cornplanter's tribe 
remained. These Indians, for a number of years after the white men 
came, extended their hunting excursions into these forests. They were 
always peaceable and friendly. The first settlers found their small 
patches of corn, one of which was planted where the fair-grounds are 
now located, and another in the flat at Port Barnett. Indian corn, or 
maize, as it was sometimes called, is undoubtedly an American cereal, 
being first discovered on this continent in 1600, though it is now grown 
in all civilized lands.' " * — A'a/c Scotf s History of Jefferson County. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE WILDERNESS IN I 755 THE SAVACJE INDIAN MARIE LE ROV AND 

ISARBARA LEININGER, THE FIRST WHITE PIONEERS TO TREAD THIS 
WILDERNESS THE CHINKLACAMOOSE PATH PUNXSUTAWNEY AND KIT- 
TANNING — REV. HECKEWELDER, REV. ZEISBERGER, REV. ETTWEIN, AND 
ROTHE. 

From what I can learn, the first white pioneers to tread the soil of 
Jefferson County, as it now is, were Marie Le Roy and Barbara Leininger. 
They were Swiss people, and lived with their parents about fifteen miles 
from where the city of Sunbury now is, in Northumberland County, then 

* Drs. Sturtevant, Pickering, and other eminent botanists and antiquarians, l)elieved 
that maize (or Indian corn) is mentioned hy the okl Icelandic writers, who are thought 
to have visited the coast of eastern Norih America, as early as 1006. 

32 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Lancaster or Berks County. These girls were Indian prisoners, and were 
being taken to Kittanning, as it is called now, by and over the " Chink- 
lacamoose path" or " Indian trail." This " trail" passed through Punx- 
sutawney, and here the Indians with these captive girls rested five 
days. 

I quote from the "Narrative of Marie Le Roy and Barbara Leinin- 
ger" as follows : 

" Early in the morning of the i6th of October, 1755, while Le Roy's 
hired man went out to fetch the cows, he heard the Indians shooting six 
times. Soon after eight of them came to the house and killed Marie 
Le Roy's father with tomahawks. Her brother defended himself des- 
perately for a time, but was at last overpowered. The Indians did not 
kill him, but took him prisoner, together with Marie Le Roy and a little 
girl, who was staying with the family. Thereupon they plundered the 
homestead and set it on fire. Into this fire they laid the body of the 
murdered father, feet foremost, until it was half consumed. The upper 
half was left lying on the ground, with the two tomahawks with which 
they had killed him sticking in his head. Then they kindled another 
fire, not far from the house. While sitting around it, a neighbor of Le 
Roy, named Bastian, happened to pass by on horseback. He was imme- 
diately shot down and scalped. 

" Two of the Indians now went to the house of Barbara Leininger, 
where they found her father, her brother, and her sister Regina. Her 
mother had gone to the mill. They demanded rum ; but there was none 
in the house. Then they called for tobacco, which was given them. 
Having filled and smoked a pipe, they said, ' We are Allegheny Indians, 
and your enemies. You must all die !' Thereupon they shot her father, 
tomahawked her brother, who was twenty years of age, took Barbara and 
her sister Regina prisoners, and conveyed them into the forest for about 
a mile. There they were soon joined by the other Indians, with Marie 
Le Roy and the little girl. 

" Not long after several of the Indians led the prisoners to the top of 
a high hill, near the two plantations. Toward evening the rest of the 
savages returned with six fresh and bloody scalps, which they threw at 
the feet of the poor captives, saying that they had a good hunt that 
day. 

'• The next morning we were taken about two miles farther into the 
forest, while the most of the Indians again went out to kill and plunder. 
Toward evening they returned with nine scalps and five i)risoners. 

" On the third day the whole band came together and divided the 
spoils. In addition to large quantities of provisions, they had taken four- 
teen horses and ten prisoners, — namely, one man, one woman, five girls, 
and three boys. We two girls, as also two of the horses, fell to the share 
of an Indian named Galasko. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" We travelled with our new master for two days. He was tolerably- 
kind, and allowed us to ride all the way, while he and the rest of the In- 
dians walked. Of this circumstance Barbara Leininger took advantage, 
and tried to escape. But she was almost immediately recai)tured, and 
condemned to be burned alive. The savages gave her a French Bible, 
which they had taken froni Le Roy's house, in order that she might pre- 
l)are for death : and when she told them that she could not understand 
it, they gave her a (rerman Bible. Thereujjon they made a large pile of 
wood and set it on fire, intending to put her into the midst of it. But a 
young Indian begged so earnestly for her life that she was i)ardoned, 
after having promised not to attempt to escape again, and to stop her 
crying. 

" The next day the whole troop was divided into two bands, the one 
marching in the direction of the Ohio, the other, in which' we were with 
Galasko, to Jenkiklamuhs,-'^ a Delaware town on the west branch of the 
Susquehanna. There we stayed ten days, and then proceeded to Punck- 
sotonay,t or Eschentovvn. Marie Le Roy's brother was forced to remain 
at Jenkiklamuhs. 

"After having rested for five days at Puncksotonay, we took our way 
to Kittanny. As this was to be the place of our permanent abode, we 
here received our welcome, according to Indian custom. It consisted of 
three blows each, on the back. They were, however, administered with 
great mercy. Indeed, we concluded that we were beaten merely in order 
to keep up an ancient usage and not with the intention of injuring us. 
The month of December was the time of our arrival, and we remained at 
Kittanny until the month of September, 1756. 

" The Indians gave us enough to do. We had to tan leather, to make 
shoes (moccasins), to clear land, to plant corn, to cut down trees and build 
huts, to wash and cook. The want of provisions, however, caused us the 
greatest suffering. During all the time that we were at Kittanny we had 
neither lard nor salt, and sometimes we were forced to live on acorns, 
roots, grass, and bark. There was nothing in the world to make this 
new sort of food palatable, excepting hunger itself. 

" In the month of September Colonel Armstrong arrived with his 
men, and attacked Kittanny Town. Both of us happened to be in that 
part of it which lies on the other (right) side of the river (Allegheny). 
We Avere immediately conveyed ten miles farther into the interior, in 
order that we might have no chance of trying, on this occasion, to escajje. 
The savages threated to kill us. If the English had advanced, this might 
have happened, for at that time the Indians were greatly in dread of 
Colonel Armstrong's corps. After the English had withdrawn, we were 

* Chinklacamoose, on the site of the present town of Clearfield. 
f Punxsiitawney, in Jefferson County. 
34 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

again brought back to Kittanny, which town had been burned to the- 
ground. 

"There we had the mournful opportunity of witnessing the cruel end 
of an English woman, who had attempted to flee out of her captivity and 
to return to the settlements with Colonel Armstrong. Having been recap- 
tured by the savages and brought back to Kittanny, she was put to death 
in an unheard-of way. First they scalped her, next they laid burning 
splinters of wood here and there ui:)on her body, and then they cut off" 
her ears and fingers, forcing them into her mouth, so that she had to~ 
swallow them. Amidst such torments this woman lived from nine o'clock 
in the morning until toward sunset, when a French officer took compas- 
sion on her and put her out of her misery. An English soldier, on the 

contrary, named John , who escaped from prison at Lancaster and 

joined the French, had a piece of flesh cut from her body and ate it. 
When she was dead, the Indians chopped her in two, through the middle, 
and let her lie until the dogs came and devoured her. 

"Three days later an Englishman was brought in, who had likewise 
attempted to escape with Colonel Armstrong, and burned alive in the 
same village. His torments, however, continued only about three hours ; 
but his screams were frightful to listen to. It rained that day very hard, 
so that the Indians could not keep up the fire : hence they began to dis- 
charge gunpowder at his body. At last, amidst his worst pains, when 
the poor man called for a drink of water, they brought him melted lead 
and poured it down his throat. This draught at once helped him out 
of the hands of the barbarians, for he died on the instant. 

"It is easy to imagine what an impression such fearful instances of 
cruelty make upon the mind of a poor captive. Does he attempt to 
escape from the savages, he knows in advance that if retaken he will 
be roasted alive : hence he must compare two evils, — namely, either to 
remain among them a prisoner forever or to die a cruel death. Is he- 
fully resolved to endure the latter, then he may run away with a brave 
heart. 

"Soon after these occurrences we were brought to Fort Duquesne, 
where we remained for about two months. We worked for the French, 
and our Indian master drew our wages. In this place, thank (jod, we 
could again eat bread. Half a pound was given us daily. We might 
have had bacon, too, but we took none of it, for it was not good. In 
some respects we were better off than in the Indian towns. We could 
not, however, abide the French. They tried hard to induce us to for- 
sake the Indians and stay with them, making us various favorable offers. 
But we believed that it would be better for us to remain among the In- 
dians, inasmuch as they would be more likely to make peace with the 
English than the French, and inasmuch as there would be more ways 
open for flight in the forest than in a fort. Consequently we declined 

35 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the offers of the French and accompanied our Indian master to Sackum,* 
where we spent thi winter, keeping house for the savages, who were con- 
tinually on the chase. In the spring we were taken to Kaschkaschkung,t 
an Indian town on the Beaver Creek. There we again had to clear the 
plantations of the Indian nobles, after the German fashion, to plant corn, 
and to do other hard work of every kind. We remained at this place for 
about a year and a half. 

" After having, in the past three years, seen no one of our own flesh 
and blood, e.xcept those unhappy beings who, like ourselves, were bearing 
the yoke of the heaviest slavery, we had the unexpected pleasure of meet- 
ing with a German, who was not a captive, but free, and who, as we 
heard, had been sent into this neighborhood to negotiate a peace between 
the English and the natives. His name was Frederick Post. We and 
all the other prisoners heartily wished him success and God's blessing 
upon his undertaking. We were, however, not allowed to speak with 
him. The Indians gave us plainly to understand that any attempt to do 
this would be taken amiss. He himself, by the reserve with which he 
treated us, let us see that this was not the time to talk over our afflictions. 
But we were greatly alarmed on his account, for the French told us that 
if they caught him they would roast him alive for five days, and many 
Indians declared that it was impossible for him to get safely through, that 
he was destined for death. 

" Last summer the French and Indians were defeated by the P^nglish 
in a battle fought at Loyal-Hannon, or Fort Ligonier. This caused the 
utmost consternation among the natives. They brought their wives and 
children from Lockstown,| Sackum, Schomingo, Mamalty, Kaschkasch- 
kung, and other places in that neighborhood, to Moschkingo, about one 
hundred and fifty miles farther west. Before leaving, however, they de- 
stroyed their crops and burned everything which they could not carry 
with them. We had to go along, and stayed at Moschkingo§ the whole 
Avinter. 

" In February, Barbara Teininger agreed with an Englishman, named 
David Breckenreach (Breckenridge), to escape, and gave her comrade, 
Marie Le Roy, notice of their intentions. On account of the severe 
season of the year and the long journey which lay before them, Marie 
strongly advised her to relinquish the project, suggesting that it should 



* Sakunk, outlet of the Big Beaver into the Ohio, a point well known to all In- 
dians ; their rendezvous in the French wars, etc. Post, in his Journal, under date of 
August 20, 1758, records his experience at Sakunk (Reichel). See Post's Journal, 
Pennsylvania Archives, O. S., vol. iii. p. 527. 

f Kaskaskunk, near the junction of the Shenango and Mahoning, in Lawrence 
County. 

+ Loggstown, on the Ohio, eight miles alcove Beaver. — Wciscr's Jotinial. 

\ Muskingum. 

36 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be postponed until spring, when the weather would be milder, and' 
promising to accompany her at that time. 

" On the last day of February nearly all the Indians left Moschkingo, 
and proceeded to Pittsburg to sell pelts. Meanwhile, their women 
travelled ten miles up the country to gather roots, and we accompanied 
them. Two men went along as a guard. It was our earnest hope that 
the opportunity for flight, so long desired, had now come. Accordingly, 
Barbara Leininger pretended to be sick, so that she might be allowed to 
put up a hut for herself alone. On the 14th of March, Marie Le Roy 
was sent back to the town, in order to fetch two young dogs which had 
been left there, and on the same day Barbara Leininger came out of 
her hut and visited a German woman, ten miles from Moschkingo. This 

woman's name is Mary , and she is the wife of a miller from the 

South Branch.* She had made every preparation to accompany us on 
our flight ; but Barbara found that she had meanwhile become lame, and 
could not think of going along. She, however, gave Barbara the pro- 
visions which she had stored, — namely, two pounds of dried meat, a quart 
of corn, and four pounds of sugar. Besides, she presented her with pelts 
for moccasins. Moreover, she advised a young Englishman, Owen Gib- 
• son, to flee with us two girls. 

" On the 16th of March, in the evening, Gibson reached Barbara Lei- 
ninger's hut, and at ten o'clock our whole party, consisting of us two girls, 
Gibson, and David Breckenreach, left Moschkingo. This town lies on 
a river, in the country of the Dellamottinoes. We had to pass many 
huts inhabited by the savages, and knew that there were at least sixteen 
dogs with them. In the merciful providence of God not a single one of 
these dogs barked. Their barking would at once have betrayed us and 
frustrated our design. 

"It is hard to describe the anxious fears of a poor woman under such 
circumstances. The extreme probability that the Indians would pursue 
and recapture us was as two to one compared with the dim hope that, 
perhaps, we would get through in safety. But, even if we escaped the 
Indians, how would we ever succeed in passing through the wilderness, 
unacquainted with a single path or trail, without a guide, and helpless, 
half naked, broken down by more than three years of hard slavery, 
hungry and scarcely any food, the season wet and cold, and many rivers 
and streams to cross? Under such circumstances, to depend upon one's 
own sagacity \vould be the worst of follies. If one could not believe that 
there is a God who helps and saves from death, one had better let run- 
ning away alone. 

"We safely reached the river (Muskingum). Here the first thought 
in all our minds was. Oh, that we were safely across ! And Barbara Lei- 

* South Branch of the rotomac. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ninger, in particular, recalling ejaculatory prayers from an old hymn, 
which she had learned in her youth, put them together, to suit our present 
•circumstances, something in the following style : 

" O bring us safely across this river ! 
In fear I cry, yea, my soul doth quiver. 
The worst afflictions are now before me, 
Where'er I turn nought but death do I see. 
Alas, what great hardships are yet in store 
In the wilderness wide, beyond that shore! 
It has neither water, nor meat, nor bread. 
But each new morning something new to dread. 
Yet little sorrow would hunger me cost 
If but I could flee from the savage host. 
Which murders and fights and burns far and wide. 
While Satan himself is array'd on its side. 
Should on us fall one of its cruel bands. 
Then help us, Great God, and stretch out Thy hands ! 
In Thee will we trust, be Thou ever near. 
Art Thou our Joshua, we need not fear. 

" Presently we found a raft, left by the Indians. Thanking God that 
He had himself prepared a way for us across these first waters, we got on 
board and pushed off. But we were carried almost a mile down the river 
before we could reach the other side. There our journey began in good 
earnest. Full of anxiety and fear, we fairly ran that whole night and all 
next day, when we lay down to rest without venturing to kindle a fire. 
Early the next morning Owen Gibson fired at a bear. The animal fell, 
but when he ran with his tomahawk to kill it, it jumped up and bit 
him in the feet, leaving three wounds. We all hastened to his assistance. 
The bear escaped into narrow holes among the rocks, where we could not 
follow. On the third day, however, Owen Gibson shot a deer. We cut 
off the hind-quarters and roasted them at night. The next morning he 
again shot a deer, which furnished us with food for that day. In the 
evening we got to the Ohio at last, having made a circuit of over one 
hundred miles in order to reach it. 

*' About midnight the two Englishmen rose and began to work at a 
raft, which was finished by morning. We got on board and safely crossed 
the river. From the signs which the Indians had there put up we saw 
that we were about one hundred and fifty miles from Fort Duquesne. 
After a brief consultation we resolved, heedless of path or trail, to travel 
straight toward the rising of the sun. This we did for seven days. On 
the seventh we found that we had reached the Little Beaver Creek, and 
were about fifty miles from Pittsburg. 

" And now that we imagined ourselves so near the end of all our 
troubles and misery, a whole host of mishaps came upon us. Our pro- 
visions were at an end, Barbara Leininger fell into the water and was 

3S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

nearly drowned, and, worst misfortune of all ! Owen Gibson lost his flint 
and steel. Hence we had to spend four nights without fire, amidst rain 
and snow. 

" On the last day of March we came to a river, Alloquepy,'i- about three 
miles below Pittsburg. Here we made a raft, which, however, proved to 
be too light to carry us across. It threatened to sink, and Marie le Roy 
fell off, and narrowly escaped drowning. We had to put back and let 
one of our men convey one of us across at a time. In this way we reached 
the Monongahela River, on the other side of Pittsburg, the same evening. 

" Upon our calling for help. Colonel Mercer immediately sent out a boat 
to bring us to the fort. At first, however, the crew created many difii- 
culties about taking us on board. They thought we were Indians, and 
wanted us to spend the night where we were, saying they would fetch us 
in the morning. When we had succeeded in convincing them that we 
were English prisoners, who had escaped from the Indians, and that we 
were wet and cold and hungry, they brought us over. There was an 
Indian with the soldiers in the boat. He asked us whether we could 
speak good Indian. Marie Le Roy said she could speak it. Thereupon 
he inquired why she had run away. She replied that her Indian 
mother had been so cross and had scolded her so constantly, that she 
could not stay with her any longer. This answer did not please him ; 
nevertheless, doing as courtiers do, he said he was very glad we had 
safely reached the fort. 

" It was in the night from the last of March to the first of April that we 
came to Pittsburg. Most heartily did we thank God in heaven for all 
the mercy which he showed us, for His gracious support in our Aveary 
captivity, for the courage which He gave us to undertake our flight and 
to surmount all the many hardships it brought us, for letting us find the 
road which we did not know, and of which He alone could know that on 
it we would meet neither danger nor enemy, and for finally bringing us 
to Pittsburg to our countrymen in safety. 

" Colonel Mercer helped and aided us in every way which lay in his 
power. Whatever was on hand and calculated to refresh us was offered 
in the most friendly manner. The colonel ordered for each of us a new 
chemise, a petticoat, a pair of stockings, garters, and a knife. After 
having spent a day at Pittsburg, we went, with a detachment under com- 
mand of Lieutenant Mile,t to Fort Ligonier. There the lieutenant 
presented each of us with a blanket. On the 15 th we left Fort Ligonier, 
under protection of Captain Weiser and Lieutenant Atly,| for Fort Bed- 
ford, where we arrived in the evening of the i6th, and remained a 
week. Thence, provided with passports by Lieutenant Geiger, we 

* Chartiers Creek. f Lieutenant Samuel Miles. 

J Lieutenant Samuel J. Atlee. 

39 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

travelled in wagons to Harris' Ferry, and from there, afoot, by way of 
Lancaster, to Philadelphia. Owen Gibson remained at Fort Bedford 
and David Breckenreach at Lancaster. We two girls arrived in Phila- 
delphia on Sunday, the 6th of May." 

In 1762 the great Moravian missionary. Rev. John Heckewelder, may 
have, and probably did, spend a day or two in Punxsutawney. In or 
about the year 1765 a Moravian missionary — viz., Rev. David Zeisber- 
ger — established a mission near the present town of Wyalusing, Brad- 
ford County, Pennsylvania. He erected forty frame buildings, with 
shingle roofs and chimneys, in connection with other improvements, and 
Christianized a large number of the savages. The Muncy Indians were 
then living in what is now called Forest County, on the Allegheny River. 
This brave, pious missionary determined to reach these savages also, 
and, with two Christian Indian guides, he traversed the solitude of the 
forests and reached his destination on the i6th of October, 1767. He 
remained with these savages but seven days ; they were good listeners to 
his sermons, but every day he was in danger of being murdered. Of 
these Indians he wrote, — 

'' I have never found such heathenism in any other parts of the Indian 
country. Here Satan has his stronghold. Here he sits on his throne. 
Here he is worshipped by true savages, and carries on his work in the 
hearts of the children of darkness." These, readers, were the Indians 
that roamed over our hills, then either Lancaster or Berks County. In 
1768 this brave minister returned and put up a log cabin, twenty-six by 
sixteen feet, and in 1769 was driven back to what is now called Wya- 
lusing by repeated attempts on his life. He says in his journal, " For ten 
months I have lived between these two towns of godless and malicious 
savages, and my preservation is wonderful." 

In 1768 the six Indian nations having by treaty sold the land from 
"under the feet" of the Wyalusing converts, the Rev. Zeisberger was 
compelled to take measures for the removal of these Christian Indians, 
with their horses and cattle, to some other field. After many councils and 
much consideration, he determined to remove the entire body to a mis- 
sion he had established on the Big Beaver, now Lawrence County, Penn- 
sylvania. Accordingly, "on the nth of June, 1772, everything being 
in readiness, the congregation assembled for the last time in their church 
and took up their march toward the setting sun." They were "di- 
vided into two companies, and each of these were subdivided. One 
of these companies went overland by the Wyalusing path, up the Sugar 
Run, and down the Loyal Sock, '^na Dushore. This company was in 
charge of Ettwein, who had the care of the horses and cattle. The 
other company was in charge of Rothe, and went by canoe down the 
Susquehannah and up the west branch." The place for the divisions to 
unite was the Creat Island, now Lock Haven, and from there, under the 

40 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 




Rattlesnake. 



lead of Rev. John Ettwein, to proceed up the west branch of the Susque- 
hanna, and then cross the mountains over the Chinklacamoose path, 
through what is now Clearfield 
and Punxsutawney, and from 
there to proceed, via Kittanning, 
to the Big Beaver, now in Law- 
rence County, Pennsylvania. 
Reader, just think of two hun- 
dred and fifty people of all ages, 
with seventy head of oxen and a 
greater number of horses, trav- 
ersing these deep forests, over a 
small path sometimes scarcely dis- 
cernible, under drenching rains, 
and through dismal swamps, and 

all this exposure continued for days and weeks, with wild beasts to the 
right and to the left of them, and the path alive with rattlesnakes in front 
of them, wading streams and overtaken by sickness, and then, dear 
reader, you will conclude with me that nothing but ''praying all night 
in the wilderness" ever carried them successfully to their destination. 
This story of Rev. Ettwein is full of interest. I reprint a paragraph or 
two that applies to what is now Jefferson County, — viz. : 

"7772, Tuesday, July 14th. — Reached Clearfield Creek, where the 
Buffaloes formerly cleared large tracts of undergrowth, so as to give them 
the appearance of cleared fields. Hence the Indians called the creek 
' Clearfield.' Here we shot nine deer. On the route we shot one hun- 
dred and fifty deer and three bears. 

" Friday, July lyf/i. — -Advanced only four miles to a creek that comes 
down from the Northwest." This was and is Anderson Creek, near Cur- 
wensville, Pennsylvania. 

"July 1 8th. — Moved on . . . 

" Sunday, July igth. — As yesterday, but two families kept up with 
me, because of the rain, we had a quiet Sunday, but enough to do drying 
our effects. In the evening all joined me, but we could hold no service 
as the Ponkies were so excessively annoying that the cattle pressed toward 
and into our camp to escape their persecutors in the smoke of the fire. 
This vermin is a plague to man and beast by day and night, but in the 
swamp through which we are now passing, their name is legion. Hence 
the Indians call it the Ponsetunik, i.e. the town of the Ponkies." This 
swamp was in what we now call Punxsutawney. These people on their 
route lived on fish, venison, etc. 



41 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE PURCHASE OF 1784. 

The following article on the purchase made by the Commonwealth 
from, the Indian tribes known as the Six Nations in 1784, of all the lands 
within the charter bomidaries of Pennsylvania in which the Indian title 
had not been extinguished by previous purchases, was written and com- 
piled by Major R. H. Forster, of the Department of Internal Affairs, for 
this book : 

"At the close of the war of the Revolution, in the year 1783, the 
ownership of a large area of the territory within the charter boundaries 
of Pennsylvania was still claimed by the Indians of the several tribes that 
were commonly known as the Six Nations. The last purchase of lands 
from the Six Nations by the proprietary government of the province was 
made at Fort Stanwix in November, 1768, and the limit of this ^Durchase 
may be described as extending to lines beginning where the northeast 
branch of the Susquehanna River crosses the northern line of the State, 
in the present county of Bradford ; thence down the river to the mouth 
of Towanda Creek, and up the same to its head-waters ; thence by a range 
of hills to the head-waters of Pine Creek, and down the same to the west 
branch of the Susquehanna ; thence up the same to Cherry Tree ; thence 
by a straight line, across the present counties of Indiana and Armstrong, 
to Kittanning,* on the Allegheny River, and thence down the Allegheny 
and Ohio Rivers to the western boundary line of the province. The In- 
dian claim, therefore, embraced all that part of the State lying to the 
northwest of the purchase lines of 1768, as they are here described. 
With the close of the Revolutionary struggle, the authorities of the new 
Commonwealth, anxiously looking to its future stability and prosperity. 



* "Canoe Place," so called in the old maps of the State to designate the head of 
navigation on the west branch of the Susquehanna River, is the point at which the pur- 
chase line of 1768 from that river to Kittanning, on the Allegheny River, begins. A 
survey of that line was made by Robert Galbraith in the year 1786, and a cherry-tree 
standing on the west bank of the river was marked ]:)y him as the beginning of his sur- 
vey. The same cherry-tree was marked by William P. Brady as the southeast cor- 
ner of a tract surveyed by him " at Canoe Place," in 1794, on warrant No. 3744, in the 
name of John Nicholson, Esq. The town of Cherry Tree now covers part of this 
ground. The old tree disappeared years ago. Its site, however, was regarded as of 
some historic importance, and under an appropriation of $1500, granted by the Legisla- 
ture in 1893, a substantial granite monument has been erected to mark the spot where it 
stood. 

42 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

soon found themselves confronted with duties and responsibilities differ- 
ent in many respects from those that had engaged their serious attention 
and earnest effort during the previous seven years of war. They were to 
enact just and equitable laws for the government of a new State, and to 
devise such measures as would stimulate its growth in wealth and popula- 
tion and promote the development, settlement, and improvement of its 
great domain. 

"As early as the 12th of March, 1783, the General Assembly had 
passed an act setting apart certain lands lying north and west of the Ohio 
and Allegheny Rivers and Conewango Creek to be sold for the purpose 
of redeeming the depreciation certificates given to the of^cers and sol- 
diers of the Pennsylvania Line who had served in the war of the Revolu- 
tion, and also for the purpose of making donations of land to the same 
officers and soldiers in compliance with a promise made to them by a res- 
olution passed in 1780. It will be observed that when this act was passed 
the Indian claim of title to the lands mentioned was still in force ; but 
the State authorities, though seemingly slow and deliberate in their 
actions, were no doubt fully alive to the necessity of securing as speedily 
as possible the right to all the lands within the State — about five six- 
teenths of its area — that remained unpurchased after the treaty at Fort 
Stanwix in 1768. With that purpose in view, the first movement made 
by the General Assembly to be found on record was on the 25th day of 
September, 1783. This action is in the form of a resolution passed on 
that day by the recommendation of the report of a committee that had 
been previously appointed ' to digest such plans as they might conceive 
necessary to facilitate and expedite the laying off and surveying of the 
lands' set apart by the act of the previous March. The resolution reads, — 

" ' Resolved, unanimously. That the supreme executive council be, 
and they are hereby authorized and empowered to appoint commissioners 
to hold a meeting with the Indians claiming the unpurchased territory 
within the acknowledged limits of the State, for the purpose of purchasing 
the same, agreeable to ancient usage, and that all the expenses accruing 
from the said meeting and purchase be defrayed out of the Treasury of 
the State.' — Pennsylvania Archives, vol. x. p. in. 

" It next appears by a minute of the Supreme Executive Council, of 
February 23, 1784, that Samuel John Atlee, William Maclay, and Francis 
Johnston were on that day chosen commissioners to treat with the In- 
dians as proposed in the resolution of the General Assembly. The gentle- 
men named — all of them prominent citizens — were informed on the 29'th 
of the same month of their appointment, but they did not acknowledge 
the receipt of President Dickinson's letter until the 17th of May follow- 
ing. On that day Messrs. Atlee and Johnston reply in a letter of thanks 
for the honor conferred upon them, and explain the delay as having been 
caused by circumstances that required Mr. Maclay and Colonel Atlee to 

43 



PIONEER HISTORY OP^ JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

visit their families, the first named still remaining absent. The letter 
also contains a statement of their views upon various matters pertaining 
to the mission upon which they are about to enter. They suggest Sam- 
uel ^Veiser, a son of Conrad Weiser, the noted Indian missionary, as a 




Conrad Weiser. 

proper person to notify the Indians of the desire to treat with them, and, 
from his familiarity with their language and customs, to act as interpreter. 
The time and place for holding the treaty are mentioned, but nothing 
definite suggested, owing to the fact that the Continental Congress had 
likewise appointed commissioners to meet the Six Nations for the purpose 
of treating with them in relation to the lands of the Northwest, beyond 
the limits of Pennsylvania, and it was deemed proper to permit the rep- 
resentatives of Congress to arrange for the meeting. 'i= Fort Stanwix, in 
the State of New York, was finally agreed ui)on as the place where the 



* Fennsylvania Arcliives, vol. x ji. 265. 
44 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

meeting should be held, and thither the commissioners on the part of 
Pennsylvania were directed to proceed. On the 25th of August, 1784, 
a committee of the General Assembly, having Indian affairs under con- 
sideration, made the following report : 

" ' That weighty reasons have occurred in favor of the design for hold- 
ing a conference with the Indians on the part of this State, and if under 
the present situation of Continental affairs that measure can be conducted 
on sure ground and without too unlimited an expense, it ought to take 
place and be rendered as effective as this House can make it, under whose 
auspices a foundation would thus be laid of essential and durable advan- 
tage to the public, by extending population, satisfying our officers and 
soldiers in regard to their donation lands and depreciation certificates, 
restoring that ancient, friendly, and profitable intercourse with the In- 
dians, and guarding against all occasions of war with them.' — Pennsyl- 
vania Archives, vol. x. p. 316. 

" To aid the commissioners in their efforts to attain objects so worthy 
and laudable, the above report was accompanied by a resolution that 
authorized the Supreme Executive Council to expend $9000 in the pur- 
chase of 'such goods, merchandize, and trinkets' as would be acceptable 
to the Indians, to be given them as part of the consideration in the event 
of a purchase being made. In pursuance of this resolution the council 
promptly ordered a warrant to be i.ssued by the treasurer in favor of the 
commissioners for the sum of ^3375 (equivalent in Pennsylvania cur- 
rency to $9100), to be expended by them in purchasing the necessary 
articles.* 

" After a tedious and fatiguing journey, in which they met with a 
number of unexpected delays, the commissioners reached Fort Stanwix 
early in the month of October, where they found some of the tribes 
already assembled, and with them the commissioners of the Continental 
Congress. In a letter to President Dickinson, dated October 4, 1784, 
they announce their arrival, and state that the negotiations had already 
commenced, and while they would not venture an opinion as to the final 
issue, they say the disposition of the Indians appeared to be favorable. 
The negotiations continued until the 23d of the same month, and on that 
day ended in an agreement by which the Indian title to all the lands 
within the boundaries of the State that remained after the treaty of 1768 
was extinguished. The Indians represented at the conference were the 
Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Senecas, the Cayugas, and the 
Tuscaroras. The consideration fixed for the surrender of their rights was 



* For a list of the articles designated in the order see Colonial Records, vol. xiv. 
p. 186. After the negotiations at Fott Stanwix had been concluded the commissioners 
gave an obligation for an additional thousand dollars in goods, to be delivered at 
Tioga. For this list see Pennsylvania Archives, vol. x. p. 496. 

45 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEEEERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

$5000. The deed is dated October 23, 1784, is signed by all the chiefs 
of the Six Nations and by the Continental commissioners as witnesses. 
The boundaries of the territory ceded are thus described : ' Beginning on 
the south side of the river Ohio, where the western boundary of the State 
of Pennsylvania crosses the said river, near Shingo's old town, at the 
mouth of Beaver Creek, and thence by a due north line to the end of the 
forty-second and the beginning of the forty-third degrees of north lati- 
tude, thence by a due east line separating the forty-second and the forty- 
third degrees of north latitude, to the east side of the east branch of the 
Susquehanna River, thence by the bounds of the late purchase made at 
Fort Stanwix, the fifth day of November, Anno Domini one thousand 
seven hundred and sixty-eight, as follows : Down the said east branch of 
Susquehanna, on the east side thereof, till it comes opposite to the mouth 
of a creek called by the Indians Awandac, and across the river, and up 
the said creek on the south side thereof, all along the range of hills called 

Burnet's Hills by the English and by the Indians , on the north side 

of them, to the head of a creek which runs into the west branch of Sus- 
quehanna, which creek is by the Indians called Tyadaghton, but by the 
Pennsylvanians Pine Creek, and down the said creek on the south side 
thereof to the said west branch of Susquehanna, thence crossing the said 
river, and running up the south side thereof, the several courses thereof 
to the forks of the same river, which lies nearest to a place on the river 
Ohio called Kittanning, and from the fork by a straight line to Kittan- 
ning aforesaid, and thence down the said river Ohio by the several courses 
thereof to where said State of Pennsylvania crosses the same river at the 
place of beginning.' After the commissioners had accomplished in so 
satisfactory a manner the object for which they had journeyed to Fort 
Stanwix, it became necessary to appease the Western Indians, the Wyan- 
dots and the Delawares, who also claimed rights in the same lands. The 
same commissioners were therefore sent to Fort Mcintosh, on the Ohio 
River, at the site of the present town of Beaver, where, in January, 1785, 
they were successful in reaching an agreement with those Indians for the 
same lands. This deed, signed by the chiefs of both tribes, is dated 
January 21, 1785, and is in the same words (except as to the consid- 
eration money, which is :^2ooo) and recites the same boundaries as the 
deed signed at Fort Stanwix in the previous month of October.* 

"After the juu-chase of 1768 a disagreement arose between the pro- 
prietary government and the Indians as to whether the creek flowing into 
the west branch of the river Susquehanna, and called in the deed ' Tya- 
daghton,' was intended for Lycoming Creek or Pine Creek. The In- 

* The conference of the commissioners at Fort Stanwix and Fort Mcintosh with 
the deeds signed at tliose places are published in the Appendi.x to the General Assembly 
for the session of February to April, 17S5. 

46 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dians said it was the former, and that the purchase only extended that 
far, the proprietaries claimed the latter stream to be the extent of the pur- 
chase ; but, m order to avoid any trouble that might arise from the dis- 




pute, it was wisely determined that no rights should be granted for lands 
west of Lycoming Creek. This determination, however, did not deter 
or prevent adventurous pioneers from entering upon and making settle- 
ments within the disputed territory, and from their ])ersistency in so 

47 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

doing arose an interesting, not to say serious, condition of affairs, to 
which reference will again be made. The commissioners at Fort Stan- 
wix were instructed to ascertain definitely from the Indians which of the 
two streams they meant by ' Tyadaghton.' They then admitted that it 
was Pine Creek, being the largest emptying into the west l)ranch of the 
Suscjuehanna. 

"The Indian claim of right to the soil of Pennsylvania, within its 
charter limits, had thus, in a period of a little more than one hundred 
years, ceased to exist. A glance at a map of the State will show that 
within the magnificent domain that comprises the purchase of 1784 are 
to be found at the present day the counties of Tioga, Potter, McKean, 
Warren, Crawford, A^enango, Forest, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron, 
Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer, and parts of the counties of Bradford, 
Clinton, Clearfield, Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny, Beaver, and Erie.* 
This large and important division of our great Commonwealth, now teem- 
ing|\vith population and wealth, the abiding-place of a noble civilization, 
and containing within its boundaries thousands upon thousands of homes 
of comfort and many of elegance and luxury, fertile valleys to reward the 
labor of the husbandman, thriving villages, busy towns, and growing, 
bustling cities, was, in 1784, largely an uninhabited and untraversed 
wilderness. 

"LANDS EAST OF THE ALLEGHENY RIVER AND CONEWANGO 

CREEK. 

"The General Assembly of the State did not delay in enacting laws 
which would open to settlers and purchasers that part of the late acquisi- 
tion that had not been otherwise appropriated. As a matter of fact, in 
anticipation of the purchase, an act was passed on the ist day of April, 
1784, in which it was provided that as soon as the Indians were 'satisfied 
for the unpurchased lands,' the supreme executive council should give 
official information thereof to the surveyor-general, who was then to ap- 
point district surveyors to survey all such lands within the purchase as 
should 'be found fit for cultivation.' The tracts were to contain not 
more than 500 nor less than 200 acres each, and were to be numbered 
on a general draft of each district. When a certain number of lots were 
surveyed, they were to be sold at public auction, the purchaser having 
the privilege of paying one moiety at the time of purchase and receiving 
a credit of two years for the other moiety. The mode of disposing of the 
lands thus indicated was soon changed by subsequent legislation. By an 
act passed December 21, 17S4, to amend the act of A\m\ i, the pro- 
visions of the law for sales by public auction and the giving of credit 
were repealed. Section 6 of the act provided that the land-office should 



See accompanying map, which shows the extent of tlie purchase. 
48 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be open on the ist day of May, 1785, to receive applications for lands at 
the rate of ^30 -'^ for every hundred acres of the same, and that the sur- 
vey of an application should not contain more than 1000 acres, with the 
usual allowance of six per centum for highways. This act was intended 
to apply to all lands within the purchase, except the lands north and west 
of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers and Conewango Creek (which, as 
already mentioned, had been appropriated for the redemption of depre- 
ciation certificates and for the donations of land to the soldiers of the 
Pennsylvania Line) and the disputed territory between Lycoming and 
Pine Creeks. By Section 7, a warrant issued in pursuance of the act 
was not descriptive, and was not confined to any particular place, but 
could be located on any vacant land, not within the excepted districts, 
that the applicant might select. Sections 8, 9, and 10 of the act pro- 
vide for the persons who occui)ied lands between Lycoming and Pine 
Creek, in violation of the proprietary mandate. The situation of these 
settlers was peculiar. When the disagreement in regard to the purchase 
lines of the purchase of 1768 occurred, the proprietaries, always ex- 
tremely anxious to avoid giving offence to the Indians, decided to with- 
hold the territory between the two streams from sale and settlement until 
the differences could be properly adjusted by mutual agreement. Though 
many applications for land west of Lycoming Creek were on file, surveys 
Avould not be accepted, and at the same time stringent orders were issued 
protesting against persons making settlement beyond that stream, and 
warning those already there to depart. In defiance of warnings, protests, 
and proclamations, however, many sturdy, self-reliant men persisted in 
occupying the forbidden ground, where they found themselves beyond 
the bounds of lawful authority, and could not expect to receive encour- 
agement or protection from the proprietary government. But with the 
energy and courage common to pioneer settlers they at once began the 
work of subduing the wilderness and building homes for their families, 
and from accounts that have come down to us, the little community, if it 
did not live in luxury, was at least able to earn a subsistence that was not 
meagre in quantity, whatever may have been its quality. Iking without 
law or government, the members of the community were compelled by 
the necessities of their situation and surroundings to adopt a system of 
government of their own, the details of which are not fully known. All, 
however, were under solemn obligations to support and defend their 
agreement for mutual support and protection. They called themselves 
Fair-Play Men, and it is known that annually they elected three of their 
number to constitute a court, which held stated meetings to dispense jus- 
tice. To this tribunal all disputes and controversies were referred for 
settlement, and from its decisions there was no appeal. A stranger 

* In Pennsylvania currency this was at the rate of 80 cents an acre. 

49 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

coming among them was obliged to ap])ear before tlie court and promise 
under oath to submit to the laws of the community. If he did this, he 
could remain, take possession of unoccupied land, and receive assistance 
in building his cabin. If he would not take the obligation, he was quickly 
notified to absent himself without delay, which he usually did, without 
awaiting the call of a committee, whose methods of expulsion might be 
none too gentle. Many of these brave frontiersmen served in the army 
during the Revolutionary War, and Section S of the act recited that by 
reason of their services as soldiers, thev merited the ' pre-emjjtion of 
their respective plantations.' Sections 9 and 10 of the same act allowed 
a pre-emption to all settlers and their legal representatives who had set- 
tled on the lands between the two streams prior to the year 17S0, limit- 
ing each claim to 300 acres, providing that the application should be 
made and the consideration paid on or before November i, 1785. It 
will be remembered that the time fixed by the act of December 21, 
1784, for the land-ofifice to be opened to receive applications was May 
I, 1785. Before that day arrived, however, the Legislature passed 
another act,, which, in many respects, changed the policy previously pur- 
sued in disposing of unappropriated lands. This act became a law on 
the 8th day of April, 1785, and with it came the practice, as provided in 
the act, of numbering all warrants for land in the last purchase to the east 
of the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek, a change in practice that 
has always been regarded as a valuable improvement on the old system. 
The act is entitled ' An act to provide further regulations, whereby to 
secure fair and equal proceedings in the land- office, and the surveying of 
lands.' It was believed that when the office was opened on the day fixed 
by the law, numerous applications would be made at the same time, and 
that preference would necessarily be given to some persons to the disad- 
vantage of others, and thereby cause dissatisfaction. In order to prevent 
any one from profiting by such preference, it was enacted in Section 2 
of the act that the priority of all warrants to be granted on applications 
received during the first ten days after the opening of the office should 
be determined by a lottery to be drawn under the supervision of the 
Secretary of the Land-Office. Not more than 1000 acres were to be 
included in one application, and the warrants were to be numbered 
'according to the decision of the lottery.' For conducting the lottery 
the section contains minute directions. All applications made after the 
expiration of ten days were to have priority according to the order in 
which they came into the hands of the Secretary, and were to be num- 
bered accordingly. The other sections of the act relate mainly to the 
duties of the surveyor-general and the deputy- surveyors to be by him 
appointed, and the way in which surveys were to be made and returned. 
It also prescribes the fees to be received by the officers of the land office 
and the deputy surveyors, and attaches the territory east of the Allegheny 

50 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

River and Conewango Creek to Northumberland County, a part of which 
county it remained until Lycoming County was formed in 1795, when it 
became part of that county. The remaining portion of the purchase was 
attached to Westmoreland County, and so continued until Allegheny was 
formed in 1788, when it was included in the boundary of that county. 
The applications received during the first ten days from the opening of 
the office were listed and numbered, placed in the lottery-wheel, and 
drawn therefrom in the manner provided by the second section of the 
act. They numbered five hundred and sixty-four, and warrants for that 
number of tracts were issued, and received a number that corresponded 
with the number drawn from the wheel. These warrants were called 
' Northumberland County Lottery Warrants,' and under that designation 
are yet carried on the warrant registers of the office. They could be, 
and were, located in such localities within the purchase east of the Alle- 
gheny River as the owners might select, except on a reservation of 1000 
acres at the forks of Sinnemahoning Creek, for which General James 
Potter held a pre-emption. 

"The surveyor general had authority to appoint deputy-surveyors, 
and to fix the number, extent, and boundaries of the districts to which 
they were to be assigned. The territory was divided into eighteen dis- 
tricts, and a deputy surveyor appointed for each. 'Jhese districts were 
numbered consecutively, beginning with No. i, on the Allegheny River, 
and running eastward to No. 18, which extended to the north branch of 
the Susquehanna in the northeast corner of the purchase. This arrange- 
ment of the districts continued until after the year 1790, when a change 
was made by the surveyor-general. The number of districts was then 
reduced to six, and were numbered westward from district No. i, begin- 
ning at the mouth of Lycoming Creek. In the new arrangement John 
Adlum was appointed deputy-surveyor for district No. i, John Broadhead 
for No. 2, John Canan for No. 3, James Hunter for No. 4, William P. 
Brady for No. 5, and Enion Williams for. No. 6, on the Allegheny River. 
In 1793, John Adlum, whose surveys were principally along the northern 
line of the State, was succeeded by William Ellis, and Enion Williams 
by John Broadhead. After the drawing of the lottery warrants the busi- 
ness of the land-office does not appear to have been very pressing. It 
would seem that at the price fixed by the act of December, 1784 — ^30 
per hundred, or 80 cents an acre — ^purchasers were not numerous. The 
records show that from the time of the drawing and issuing of the lottery 
warrants in May, 1785, down to the year 1792, not more than 400 war- 
rants were granted for these lands, and among these warrants were many 
to religious and educational institutions issued under various acts of 
endowment. There were 32 to Dickinson College, — 28 of 300 acres 
each, and 4 of 400 acres each, making in all 7000 acres ; the Episcopal 
Academy had ;^;^ warrants, — 32 of 300 acres each, and i of 400 acres,. 

51 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

making 10,000 acres; the Lutheran congregation, of Philadelphia, 10 
warrants of 500 acres each, making 5000 acres; the Pittsburg Academy, 
10 warrants of 500 acres each, making 5000 acres; the Washington 
Academy, 10 warrants of 500 each, making 5000 acres; the Reading 
Academy, 7 warrants, — 3 of 1000 acres each and 4 of 500 acres each, 
making 5000 acres ; and Franklin College ^^ warrants of 300 acres each, 
and I of 100 acres, making 10,000 acres, — making in the aggregate 112 
warrants for 52,000 acres of land. 

"It had now become apparent to the authorities that the price of 
land was too high to induce investments of money in them, and that 
the General Assembly must fix a lower rate to promote sales. Benjamin 
Franklin, the president of the Supreme P^xecutive Council, under date of 
February 23, 17S7, addressed a letter to that body in which he says, 
' We are convinced that it will be of advantage to the State to lower the 
price of land within the late Indian purchase ; only eight warrants have 
been taken out for lands these six months passed.'* The Legislature 
accordingly passed an act, October 3, 178S, to reduce the price from the 
rate of ^30 per hundred acres to ^20. This rate was to be charged 
after March i, 1789, and was a reduction from the old rate of So cents 
an acre to S3}i cents an acre. This rate continued until April 3, 1792 ; 
but, contrary to expectations, did not have the effect of increasing sales, 
and, therefore, brought little or no change in the business of the office. 
By another act, passed April 3, 1792, the price was again reduced. The 
rate fixed by this act was ^^5, or $13.33^, for each hundred acres, and 
at this rate sales almost astonishing in extent were made, and the years 
1792-93-94 proved to be noted and important years for disposing of un- 
appropriated lands. The low price at which lands could now be bought, 
and the alluring prospect of a large increase in their value, undoubtedly 
induced many large purchasers to enter their applications. The applica- 
tions received at the land-office were for a large number of tracts, and 
in the course of the years named more than 5000 warrants of 900 and 
1000 acres each, covering almost 5,000,000 acres, were granted for 
lands north and west of the purchase line of 1768, and east of the Alle- 
gheny River. These were all numbered in consecutive order, as required 
by the act of April, 1785, and were sent to the deputy surveyors of the 
six districts to be executed. They were issued in the names of a com- 
paratively small number of persons, but the holdings, as a rule, were very 
large. While it would be tedious to give the names of all the holders of 
these warrants, generally called Mate purchase warrants,' it may not 
prove uninteresting to mention a few of those whose purchases were more 
than usually large, if only to show that a spirit of speculation might have 
existed in those days, even as it does at the present time. The first to 



"■■ Colonial Records, vol. xv. p. 167. 
52 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be mentioned will be the warrants issued in the names of Wilhelm Willink, 
Nicholas Van Staphorst, Christian Van Eeghan, Pieter Stadnitski, Hen- 
drick Vollenhoven, and Ruter Jan Schimmelpenninck. These gentle- 
men were merchants of the city of Amsterdam, Holland. In the land 
history of Pennsylvania they are known as the ' Holland Land Com- 
pany,' and through agents they invested a large amount of money in 
land in the purchase of 1784 The warrant registers show that in the 
three years, 1792-93-94, they paid for and received 1 105 warrants of 900 
acres each, aggregating 995,400 acres of land lying east of the Allegheny 
River. These warrants were divided among the deputy- surveyors of the 
six districts. James Wilson was another large owner of warrants, the 
number held by him being 510, of 900 acres each, making 451,000 acres. 
Herman Le Roy and Jan Lincklean, A. Z., also of Amsterdam, 303 
warrants of 900 acres each, making 272,700 acres. John Nicholson 300' 
warrants of 1000 acres each, making 300,000 acres. Thomas M. Willing, 
311 warrants of 1000 acres each, making 311,000 acres. George Meade, 
306 warrants of 1000 acres each, making 306,000 acres. Robert Gil- 
more, 200 warrants of 1000 acres each, making 200,000 acres Samuel 
Wallis, 100 warrants of 1000 acres each, making 100,000 acres. William 
Bingham, 125 warrants of 1000 acres each, making 125,000 acres. Robert 
Morris, 185 warrants, 141 of 1000 acres each, and 44 of 500 acres each, 
making 163,000 acres. The magnitude of the purchases made by a few 
individuals is here clearly indicated. There were, however, other large 
purchasers, such as Robert Blackwell, John Olden, Charles Willing, 
Philip Nicklin and Robert Griffith, James Strawbridge, Jeremiah Parker, 
and others whose names we are obliged to omit. The surveys generally 
were carefully and correctly made, and, considering the extent of terri- 
tory covered by them, and the large interests involved, no great amount 
of litigation from conflicting locations afterwards grew out of defective 
or careless work by the surveyor, as was too often the case with surveys 
made in other sections of the State. In 181 7 the price of the lands was 
again changed to 2673 cents an acre, to correspond with the price in the 
older purchases. At the same time warrants were made descriptive, and 
have since been carried in the warrant registers by counties. The sur- 
veys made on the numbered warrants did not appropriate all the land 
within the limits to which they were restricted, and since then many 
warrants have been granted in all the counties erected from the territory 
that in 1785 was made to form a part of the county of Northumberland. 

"LANDS NORTH AND EAST OF THE OHIO AND ALLEGHENY 
RIVERS AND CONEWANGO CREEK. 

"After the surveys of the tracts to be sold for the redemption of 
depreciation certificates and the donation lots to be given to the soldiers 
of the Pennsylvania Line had been made, there remained in this part of 

53 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the purchase a large surplus of lands to be otherwise appropriated. The 
Legislature, on the 3d of April, 1792, passed an act for the sale of these 
lands, entitled ' An act for the sale of vacant lands within this Common- 
wealth.' This act differs from all previous laws for disposing of the 
public lands, by providing that they should only be offered for sale to 
such persons as would ' cultivate, improve, and settle the same, or cause 
the same to be cultivated, improved, and settled.' The price fixed was 
-£-] \os. in Pennsylvania currency, for every hundred acres, or in other 
words, 20 cents an acre, and the warrants were limited to 400 acres each. 
The surveyor general was authorized to divide the territory offered for 
sale into proper and convenient districts and appoint deputy-surveyors, 
who were to give the customary bond for the faithful performance of their 
duties. They were to execute warrants according to their priority, but 
^ not to survey any tract actually settled and improved prior to the date 
of the entry of such warrant with the deputy, except to the owner of such 
settlement and improvement.' The territory was divided into eleven 
districts, and a deputy- surveyor appointed for each ; Thomas Reese for 
district No. i, William Powers for No. 2, Benjamin Stokely for No. 3, 
Thomas Stokely for No. 4, John Moore for No. 5, Samuel Nicholson for 
No. 6, John McCool for No. 7, Stephen Gapen for No. 8, Jonathan and 
Daniel Peet for Nos. 9 and 10, John Hoge for No. ir. 

" By Section 8 of the act, on application being made to the deputy- 
surveyor of the proper district by any person who had made an actual 
settlement and improvement, that officer, on being paid the legal fees, 
was required to survey the lines of the tract, not exceeding 400 acres, to 
which such person may have become entitled by virtue of his settlement. 
Many such surveys were returned to the land office and constituted pre- 
emptions to persons for whom they were made. Some of the tracts thus 
returned still remain unpaid, as a glance at the land lien docket of the 
land-office will show. By Section 9, no warrant or survey made in pur- 
suance of the act was to vest title to the lands unless the guarantee had, 
' prior to the date of such warrant made, or caused to be made, or should 
within the space of two years next after the date of the same, make, or 
cause to be made, an actual settlement thereon, by clearing, fencing, and 
cultivating at least two acres for every hundred acres contained in one 
survey, erecting thereon a messuage for the habitation of man, and re- 
siding or causing a family to reside thereon, for the space of five years next 
following his first settling of the same, if he or she shall so long live.' 
In default of such actual settlement and residence the right was forfeited, 
and new warrants, reciting the original warrants and the lack of compli- 
ance with the requirements of the act, could be granted to other actual 
settlers. It was provided, however, ' that if any actual settler or any 
grantee in any such original or succeeding warrant, shall by force of 
arms of the enemies of the United States, be prevented from making 

54 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

such actual settlement, or be driven therefrom and shall persist in his 
endeavors to make such actual settlement as aforesaid, then, in either 
case, he and his heirs shall be entitled to have and to hold the said lands 
in the same manner as if the actual settlement had been made and con- 
tinued.' Under the provisions of this act many surveys, as already 
stated, were returned for actual settlers, and many warrants were taken 
out immediately after its passage. The warrants were for 400 acres each, 
and immense numbers of them in fictitious names, in which great families 
of Inks, Pims, etc., appear, were taken out by a few individuals. For 
instance, the Holland Land Company, previously mentioned, again 
appears in the territory west of the Allegheny. That company alone 
took out 1162 warrants representing 464,800 acres of land, and making 
the entire purchases of the company from the State amount to more than 
1,500,000 acres. John Nicholson was another purchaser who held a 
large number of these warrants. To the ' Pennsylvania Population 
Company' he assigned 100,000 acres lying principally in the present 
County of Erie, and proposed to assign 250,000 acres lying along Beaver 
Creek and the western line of the State to another of his land schemes 
called the 'North American Land Company.' The warrants all con- 
tained the actual settlement clause, but not any of the large owners of 
warrants made the slightest pretence of complying with it. Owing to 
the disturbed condition of the western border at the time it was impossi- 
ble to do so. A state of war existed with the western Indians. The 
L^nited States forces had met with serious reverses in the defeat of Harmer 
and St. Clare in 1791, and it was not until after Wayne's treaty, in 
December, 1795, gave peace and safety to the borders that settlers with 
their families could enter upon those lands free from the fear and danger 
of Indian incursions. 

" But with the settling of the Indian disorders and the return of peace, 
there soon came other troubles, with expensive and vexatious litigation, 
to annoy and harass settlers and warrantees by the uncertainty that was 
cast upon their titles. This uncertainty grew out of differences of opinion 
in relation to the construction the two years' clause of the law requiring 
actual settlement, after the termination of the Indian hostilities that had 
prevented such settlement from being made, should receive. The oppo- 
site views held by those interested in titles are clearly stated in Sergeant's 
' Land Laws,' page 98 : ' On one side it was contended that the conditions 
of actual settlement and residence, required by the act, was dispensed with, 
on account of the prevention for two years after the date of the warrant* 
by Indian hostilities ; and that the warrant holder was not bound to do 
anything further, but was entitled to a patent. On the other side it was 
insisted that the right under the warrant was forfeited, at the expiration 

* Nearly all of these warrants were granted in 1792-93. 
55 



PIOxNEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of two years, without a settlement, and that actual settlers might then enter 
on such tracts and hold them by making a settlement. On this and other 
constructions, numbers of persons entered on the lands of warrantees 
and claimed to hold under the act, as settlers, after a forfeiture.' The 
authorities of the State at the time — 1796 to 1800 — held to the first 
opinion, and by the advice of Attorney-General Ingersoll, the Board of 
Property devised what was called a 'prevention certificate,' which set 
forth the fact of the inability of the warrantee or settler to make the re- 
quired settlement. This certificate was to be signed by two justices, and 
on its presentation, properly signed, the land officers freely granted a 
patent for the land described. Under prevention certificates of this kind 
many patents were granted. The Holland Land Company received more 
than one thousand, and John Field, William Crammond, and James Gib- 
son, in trust for the use of the Pennsylvania Population Company, more 
than eight hundred. These patents all contained a recital of the preven- 
tion certificate, as follows : ' And also in consideration of it having been 
made to appear to the Board of Property that the said (name of warrantee) 
was by force of arms of the enemies of the United States prevented from 
making settlement as is required by the ninth section (act of April 3, 
1792), and the assignees of the said (warrantee) had jjersisted in their 
endeavors to make such settlement,' etc. With a change of administra- 
tion in October, 1799, there followed a change of policy. The new 
authorities did not regard the policy and proceedings of the former Board 
of Property binding, and the further issuing of patents on prevention 
certificates was refused. In the mean time, the contentions between the 
owners of warrants and settlers were carried into the courts, where a like 
difference of opinion in regard to the rights of the contending parties 
under the act of 1792 soon manifested itself, the judges disagreeing as 
widely in their construction of the ninth section as the parties in interest. 
It was only after years of exciting and troublesome litigation, and the 
enactment of a number of laws by the Legislature of the State to facilitate 
an adjustment of the contentions, that titles became settled and owners 
felt secure in their possessions. It may be said that while the judges of 
the courts often differed in their opinions on the points at issue, the liti- 
gation ended generally in favor of the holders of the warrants. The Hol- 
land Land Company, being composed of foreigners, could appeal to the 
courts of the United States. In one case carried to the Supreme Court, 
the company was actually absolved from making the settlement prescribed 
by the ninth section. Chief Justice Marshall, holding that a warrant for 
a tract of land under the Act of 1792 * to a person who, by force of arms 
of the enemies of the United States, was prevented from settling and im- 
proving the said land, and from residing thereon from the date of the 
warrant until the ist of January, 1796, but who, during the said period, 
persisted in his endeavors to make such settlement and residence, vests in 

56 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

such grantee a fee-simple in said land.'-'' That the uncertainty in re- 
gard to land titles during these years did much to retard the growth and 
prosperity of this northwestern section of the State cannot be doubted ; 
but, under the influence of better conditions, brought about by the adjust- 
ment of land rights and the allaying of local strife, it afterwards made 
marvellous strides forward in the march of progress and improvement. 

" The dispositions made of the unsold depreciation and the undrawn 
donation lots in this part of the purchase were fully treated of in former 
papers, and, therefore, need no further notice. It may not, however, be 
amiss to say a word in relation to the purchase of the Erie triangle, an 
acquisition that was of vast importance to Pennsylvania by reason of the 
outlet of Lake Erie. The triangle was claimed by the States of New 
York and Massachusetts, but was ceded by both States, in the years 1781 
and 1785, to the United States. The Pennsylvania authorities, antici- 
pating its possession, had, through a treaty made at Fort Mcintosh by 
General St. Clair, Colonel Harmer, and others, secured a deed from the 
Indians by which their claim of title was extinguished. This deed> 
signed by the chiefs of the Six Nations, is dated January 9, 17S9, and the 
consideration paid was $2000. It was then, by a deed dated March 3, 
1792, ceded by the United States to Pennsylvania. This deed is signed 
by George Washington, President, and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of 
State. In 1790, Andrew Ellicott made a survey of the triangle and 
found it to contain 202,287 acres, and the purchase-money paid to the 
United States, at the rate of 75 cents an acre, amounted to 5^15 1,640.25. 
This purchase having been completed before the passage of the act of 
April 3, 1792, the lands within it, except the reservations, were sold 
under the provisions of that act. Before the completion of the purchase, 
John Nicholson had made application for the entire tract, and probably 
held a larger number of warrants for lands within its boundaries than any 
other individual. 

"THE RESERVATIONS NORTH AND WEST OF THE OHIO AND ALLE- 
GHENY RIVERS AND CONEWANGO CREEK. 

" In the act of March 12, 1783, setting apart the depreciation lands, 
two reservations for the use of the State were made, — one of ' three thou- 
sand acres, in an oblong of not less than one mile in depth from the 
Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, and extending up and down the said rivers, 
from opposite Fort Pitt, so far as may be necessary to include the same ;' 
and the other ' three thousand acres on the Ohio, and on both sides of 
Beaver Creek, including Fort Mackintosh.' There was also reserved 
on Lake Erie for the use of the State the peninsula of Presque Isle, a 
tract extending eight miles along the shores of the lake and three miles 

* Smith's Laws, vol. ii. p. 228. ■ 

5 57 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in breadth, and another tract of 2000 acres on the lake at the mouth of 
Harbor Creek ; and also tracts at the mouth of French Creek, at Fort 
Le Boeuf, and at the mouth of Conewango Creek. For the purpose of 
raising an additional sum by the sale of town lots to be used in paying 
the debts of the State, the President of the Supreme Executive Council 
was authorized by an act passed the nth day of September, 1787, to 
cause a town to be laid out on the reservation opposite Fort Pitt. The 
tract, except 312 acres within its boundaries, was accordingly surveyed 
into town and out lots and sold at public auction. The regular lots of 
the town, as laid down in the survey, were in dimensions 60 by 240 feet, 
while the out lots contained from five to ten acres. The part containing 
312 acres, not included in the plan of the town, was patented to James 
O'Haraon the 5th day of May, 1789. This town has grown into the 
large and flourishing city of Allegheny. By another act, passed Sep- 
tember 28, 1 79 1, the governor was given power to authorize the sur- 
veyor-general to cause a part of the reservation at the mouth of Beaver 
Creek to be laid out in town lots, ' on or near the ground w^here the old 
French town stood,' in such manner as commissioners, to be appointed 
by the governor, should direct. By this act 200 acres were to be sur- 
veyed into town lots, and 1000 acres, adjoining on the upper side, into 
out lots to contain not less than five acres, nor more than ten acres. 
Daniel Leet, a deputy- surveyor, who had previously surveyed district 
No. 2, of the depreciation lands and one of the donation districts, was 
employed to lay out these town and out lots, and his survey of the town 
and out lots was confirmed by an act passed in March, 1793. The same* 
act directed the governor to proceed to make sale of the lots and grant 
conveyances for them, in the manner prescribed by the act authorizing 
the laying out of the town. The town was called Beavertown, and when 
the county of Beaver was erected in 1800 was made the county seat. 
The act erecting the county appropriated 500 acres of the reservation for 
the use of such school or academy as might thereafter be established in 
the town. The town then called Beaver was incorporated into a borough 
in 1802, and the boroughs of Rochester and Bridgewater, on opposite 
sides of the creek, also occupy parts of this reservation. 

"The towns of Erie, Franklin, Waterford, and Warren were estab- 
lished by an act passed on the i8th day of April, 1795. Of the large 
reservation on Lake Erie, at Pres([ue Isle, the governor was authorized to 
appoint two commissioners to survey 1600 acres for town lots and 3400, 
adjoining thereto, for out lots, with such streets, alleys, lanes, and reser- 
vations for i)ublic uses as the commissioners should direct. The town 
lots were to contain not more than one- third of an acre,* the out lots not 

* The regular town lots of Erie as laid down in the map of the town are 82 feet 6 
inches front and 165 feet in depth. 

58 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

more than five acres, the reservations for public uses not to exceed twenty 
acres, and the town was to be called Erie. After the survey of the town, 
made by General William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott, was filed in the 
office of the secretary of the Commonwealth, the governor was directed 
to sell at public auction one-third of the town lots and one third of the 
out lots to the highest bidders, and grant patents to the jxirchasers upon 
the condition that within two years they respectively should ' build a 
house, at least sixteen feet square, and contain at least one brick or stone 
chimney,' on each lot purchased, the patent not to be issued until after 
the expiration of two years, and then only on proof that the condition of 
the sale had been complied with. In addition to the surveys of the town 
and out lots, the act provided that three lots — one of 60 acres on the 
southern side of the harbor, another of 30 on the peninsula, and a 
third of 100 acres also on the peninsula — should be surveyed for the 
' use of the United States in erecting and maintaining forts, magazines, 
and dock-yards thereon.' Of the tract at the mouth of French Creek, 
300 acres for town lots and 700 acres for out lots were to be surveyed for 
the town of Franklin ; and of the tract at the mouth of Conewango Creek, 
300 acres for town lots and 700 acres for out lots were to be surveyed 
for the town of Warren. At the time the act providing for the laying 
out of these towns became a law a settlement had been made at Fort Le 
Boeuf. Andrew Ellicott had surveyed and laid out a town, and his draft 
of the town was accepted and confirmed by the Legislature. It was pro- 
vided, however, that in addition to the town lots of EUicott's survey, 
500 acres should be surveyed for out lots, and that the town should be 
called Waterford. The size of the town and out lots for Franklin and 
Warren, the out lots for Waterford, and the provisions for streets, lanes, 
alleys, and reservations for public use, — the reservations reduced to ten 
acres, — were the same as for the town of Erie, as were also the regulations 
for the sale of the lots. At Waterford a number of settlers who had built 
houses were given a right of pre emption to the lots on which they settled. 
A subsequent act passed April 11, 1799, provided that surveys should be 
made of the reserved tracts adjoining Erie, Franklin, Warren, and 
Waterford, not laid out in town or out lots, into lots not to exceed 
150 acres in each, to be sold by commissioners, one of whom was to 
reside in each town. The tracts were to be graded in quality, and no 
sale was to be made at less than four dollars an acre for land of the first 
quality ; three dollars for the second quality, and two dollars for the third 
quality, and purchasers, before title could vest in them, were required 
within three years from the date of their purchases to make an actual 
settlement on the land ' by clearing, fencing, and cultivating at least two 
acres for every fifty contained in one survey, and erect on each lot or 
tract a messuage for the habitation of man and reside thereon for the 
space of five years following their first settlement of the same.' The 

59 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

same act required 500 acres in each of the reserved tracts to be surveyed 
for the use of schools or academies, and provision was made for the ap- 
praisement of the residue of the town and out lots, and for their sale by 
the commissioner residing in the town. It was also provided in this act 
that the reserved lot in the town of Erie, at the mouth of Cascade Creek, 
was to be sold at public sale, on consideration of settlement and im- 
provement, ]uovided it brought $50 an acre. By an act passed Feb- 
ruary 19, 1800, the clause of the act that required settlement and im- 
provement of lots was repealed. The other reservation of 2000 acres in 
the Erie triangle, at the mouth of Harbor Creek, was donated by an act of 
the Legislature to General William Irvine to indemnify him for the loss of 
Montour's Island (now called Neville Island ), in the Ohio River below 
the city of Pittsburg. General Irvine held the island under a Penn- 
sylvania patent, but was divested of his title by a judgment of the Supreme 
Court of the United States in an ejectment suit brought against him by a 
party who claimed ownership under a Virginia right, which, under the 
agreement between Pennsylvania and A'irginia for settling the south- 
western boundary dispute, was held by the court to be good." 

INDIAN TREATIES AT FORTS STANWIX AND McINTOSH. 

" Proceedings of the treaties held at Forts Stanwix and Mcintosh, be- 
tween the commissioners of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the 
deputies of the Six Nations and the Wyandott and Delaware Indians, 
claiming the unpurchased territory within the acknowledged limits of the 
said Commonwealth : 

" Fort Stanwix, October 4, 1784. 
" The commissioners of Indian affairs from the State of Pennsylvania, 
pursuant to their letter of the 3d instant, met in conference with the 
commissioners on part of the Continent. 



T'RESENT. 



The Hon. Oliver Wolcott, 

Richard Butler, and , ^, . ^ 

. T T^ ^ United States 

Arthur Lee, Esqs., ) 

The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee, 

William McClay, and r^ ^ r^ 

„ , _ I State of Pennsylvania. 

Francis Johnston, Esys., j j j 



) Coniniissioners on part of the 
{ United States. 

] Commissioners on part of the 



" It was requested by the State commissioners that the commissioners 
for the United States should introduce and announce them in their offi- 
cial character to the Indians, and to inform them that they, by consent 
of Congress, had some business of imjiortance to transact with them, re- 

60 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

lating to the affairs of said State, to be brought forward at a proper 
period. 

" Which requisition, after being discussed, was unanimously agreed to. 

"Fort Stanwix, October 17, 1784. 

" At the request of the commissioners from the United States, the 
commissioners from the State of Pennsylvania met them this day in con- 
ference on the same subject as above. Present as before. 

" Whereupon it was agreed, That upon the close of the council to be 
held this day with the Indians in the council-house of Fort Stanwix, the 
commissioners on part of said State should be introduced and announced 
in due form to the Indian chiefs or sachems in full council. 

" The same day, in council held between the commissioners on part 
of the United States and the representatives of the Six Indian Nations, 
present also the commissioners for the State of Pennsylvania, General 
Wolcott arose and addressed the Indians as follows, — viz. : 

" ' Sachems and Warriors, — We now announce to you Colonel Atlee, 
Mr. McClay, and Colonel Johnston, three honorable gentlemen from 
the State of Pennsylvania, who have come, by the consent of Congress, 
as commissioners, to transact some affairs with you, on the part of their 
State, after the conclusion of the present treaty, should it be concluded 
in a manner satisfactory to the United States. ' 

'• After which Colonel Atlee, in behalf of the Indian commissioners 
for the State of Pennsylvania, delivered the following speech, — viz. : 

" ' Sachems and Warriors, — You have been now told by the honor- 
able commissioners from Congress that we attend as commissioners from 
your old friends of Pennsylvania to transact business with you on the 
part of that State. At a proper season we will produce to you our com- 
mission, and lay before you the business committed to our charge, and 
we doubt not but you will take it under immediate consideration and 

return a favorable answer. ' 

" (Four Strings.) 

"In Conference, Fort Stanwix, October 22, 17S4. 

" present : 

The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee, 

Francis Johnston, and 

William McClay, Esqs. 

Griffith Evans, Secretary. 

The Rev. Samuel Kirkland ) 

J ^ r T T-v ■ Interpreters. 

and Mr. James Dean, j ^ 

And the deputies of the Six Indian Nations. 

" The commissioners, through Colonel x\tlee, opened their business by 
addressing them as follows, — viz. : 

61 



pioxI':er history of jefferson county, penna. 

" 'Brothers of the Six Nations, — It is probable that the business 
between you and the Continental commissioners will be settled this day 
in council. Previous to which we are desirous of meeting you this 
morning with a view of laying before you the particular objects of our 
mission, and which we have attended here so long to negotiate with you 
on the part of the State of Pennsylvania. It is not our wish to settle 
any matters finally until the conclusion of the Continental treaty. The 
design of our present interview is to prepare your minds for the introduc- 
tion of our business at a proper season, to discuss with freedom and seri- 
ously deliberate upon the subjects necessary to be taken into consideration, 
that we may fully and perfectly understand each other. 

" We now inform you that we are commissioned, and sent from your 
old friends in Pennsylvania to purchase from you, according to ancient 
custom, the unpurchased lands within the acknowledged limits of the said 
State. This has been the invariable usage of our forefathers, and we, 
desirous of pursuing their good example, wish that our young men, who 
have become very numerous and require more lands, should settle and 
improve the same in quietness and peace ; for this desirable purpose we 
have brought with us a valuable cargo of goods, suited to your various 
wants and necessities, as a compensation for your right to these lands. 
But these lands being more remote and consequently less valuable than 
those our fathers have heretofore purchased, you ought not, therefore, to 
expect so great a consideration for them.' 

" (The commissioners then produced a map of the State, pointing out 
to them the unpurchased land now intended to be purchased.) 

" 'We here produce to you all the deeds of purchase made by our 
forefathers from their first coming into this country, which, if you require, 
shall be read and explained to you for your information and satisfaction, 
by which you will learn the extreme regard the people of Pennsylvania 
have ever shown the Six Confederated Nations.' 

" To which Captain O'Bale,* a chief of the Seneca Nation, replied in 
behalf of the Six Nations : 

" ' Brothers of Pennsylvania, — We now call your attention to our 
reply to what you have said. We greatly rejoice in meeting our brothers 
of Pennsylvania once more in peace and friendship. Your language has 
been friendly and agreeable to us, as that of your forefathers always vvas. 
You have informed us of the business you are commissioned from the 
State of Pennsylvania to transact with us. We have seen the deeds given 
by our fathers to yours and understand you well. We will take up the 
matter, keep it in mind, and deliberate upon it till the close of the 
Continental business.' 



* Captain O'Bale was more generally known as the great chief " Cornplanter," who 
lived on the Allegheny River, in what is now Warren County. He received two thou- 
sand acres of land from the State. 

62 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The commissioners then thanked them, and proceeded as follows, — 
viz.: 

" 'We come in the most peaceable and friendly manner, and do not 
wish to irritate your minds with a recapitulation of former grievances, 
but to make the road between us smooth and even. We are to inform 
you that one of our brothers present (pointing to Mr. McClay) is ap- 
pointed by the government of Pennsylvania to run the boundary line 
between you and us next spring, when we will expect some of you to ac- 
company him, in order to prevent all disputes in future touching the 
same. 

" ' Having it in charge from the State, we must not omit to be in- 
formed by you the Indian name of Burnet's Hills, mentioned in our deed 
of 1768. And also which of the two streams, Lycoming or Pine Creek 
(both of which empty into the west branch of Susquehanna), is known 
among you by the name of Tiadaghton.' (To which they answered :) 
As to Burnet's Hills, they call them the Long Mountains, and knew 
them by no other name, and that Tiadaghton was Pine Creek or the 
uppermost and largest of the two, but of this they would consider and 
return a more positive answer. 

"The conference was then closed. 

"October 23, 1784, IN CONFERENCE. 

" Present as before. 

"The commissioners again produced the map of the State, pointing 
out the purchased and unpurchased lands within the same, particularly 
describing and explaining to them the forty-second degree or line of lati- 
tude (being the northern boundary of the State), and also mentioned the 
place where it was supposed it would pass. All which Captain Aaron 
Hill, a Mohock chief, who spoke English very well, perfectly understood 
and explained in a satisfactory manner to the other chiefs. 

" Captain O'Bale then spoke, and informed the commissioners ' that 
it is not the wish of the Six Nations at present to part with so much of 
their hunting-grounds,' and pointed out a line on the map which he 
hoped would be agreeable to them. . 

"This being far short of the boundary of the State, was, therefore, 
deemed by the commissioners totally inadmissible. 

" The commissioners then spoke to them as follows : 

" * Brothers, — Though the lands that we are about to purchase are 
already ceded by the line of cession described in the Articles of Peace 
between the United States and (ireat Britain, yet we mean not to take 
advantage of you, but are desirous of paying you a valuable consideration 
for them, after the manner of our ancestors, your brothers of Pennsyl- 
vania. This consideration we have with us, and consists of an excellent 
assortment of goods, amounting in value to four thousand dollars, and 

6^ 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

which you will find to be of the first ([uality, which will certainly con- 
vince you that many advantages will flow to you from a trade and corre- 
spondence with your brothers of Pennsylvania. 

" ' We now desire you would make up your minds on these important 
matters, that our business may be in such forwardness on the conclusion 
of the Continental treaty as to be ready to receive a public and final 
sanction, on the completion of which we will deliver you a belt. 

" ' We wish once more to impress our brothers with an idea that our 
intention is to jnirsue the same method of obtaining lands from you that 
our forefathers did, with whose conduct we conceive you must be per- 
fectly satisfied, as they never wronged you, but have fulfilled all their 
engagements and paid you faithfully for all the lands they have from 
time to time purchased of you. 

" ' Least any doubts should arise respecting the quality of the goods, 
if such chiefs as are desirous of seeing them will attend at the stores, the 
several packages shall be opened and shown to them. 

" ' It has been intimated by some of you that you are desirous of having 
a privilege of hunting on these lands. To this we have no objections, more 
especially as the Continental commissioners have granted you the same 
indulgence. This, in our opinions, will tend to our mutual advantage. 

" 'Brothers, to-morrow being Sunday, on which we can transact no 
public business, being a great way from our respective families and winter 
approaching fast ui)on us, we must, therefore, again request you to come 
to a conclusion on these matters, and let us know your minds as soon as 
possible. ' 

" The commissioners then withdrew, the chiefs still remaining in con- 
sultation. After some time the Indians requested their attendance. 
They returned accordingly, when the chiefs present spoke by Captain 
O'Bale as follows : 

" ' Brothers of Pennsylvania, — You have communicated to us your 
business, you have pointed out the lands you are directed to purchase of 
us, and we understand you. You have likewise shown your authority, of 
which we are satisfied. And as we wish to keep the way between us 
smooth and even, and to brighten the chain of friendship and make it 
lasting, we have agreed that the lands you have described be granted to 
you in the same manner as you have rec^uested. P>ut as lands afford a 
lasting and rising profit, and as the Pennsylvanians have always been 
generous, we hope you will give us something next year as a farther 
consideration.' 

"The commissioners, after consulting together, replied, — 

" ' We thank you for meeting us here, and are glad to find you so 
well disposed to peace and friendship. We ex[)ccted we had brought 
you sufficient presents for the lands we are commissioned to purchase, 
but have nevertheless agreed to give you goods to the amount of one 

64 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

thousand dollars more, which we will deliver to you or to any persons 
you may appoint to receive them at Tioga, the ist day of next October. 
This cargo of goods shall be assorted in the best manner to serve you, 
for the performance of which we will obligate ourselves, if you think it 
necessary.' 

" Then the chiefs, by Captain O'Bale, spoke as follows, — viz. : 

'* ' We most cheerfully agree to this. We will make an obligation for 
the purpose of securing to us the privilege of hunting on the lands, and 
also for delivery of the goods, which will perfectly satisfy us. We wish 
that our brothers of Pennsylvania would send us a faithful gun- and black- 
smith to reside at or near Tioga, who would be of great advantage to us 
when we come down in hunting-parties ; and also that the government 
of Pennsylvania would establish trading-houses at the same place, that we 
may be conveniently and honestly supplied with such articles as we stand 
in need of.' 

"The commissioners answered, 'We will make true report of these 
requests to the State, and make no doubt they will be complied 
with.' 

" Two of the principal chiefs, — Captain Aaron Hill, of the Mohawks, 
and Captain O'Bale, of the Senecas, — desirous of having each a rifle of 
the manufacture of Pennsylvania, being informed they were very good, 
requested the commissioners to give them two of the best quality, to be 
delivered to them on the ist day of April next, at the new store at New- 
town, near Tioga, which the commissioners complied with and gave their 
obligation for that purpose. 

" The conference ended. 

" The same day In Council. 

" PRESENT : 

The Hon. Oliver Wolcott, -n 

Richard Butler, and I Commissioners on part of 

Arthur Lee, Esqs., j United States. 

The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee, -n 

William McClav, and '- Commissioners on part of tin- 
Francis Johnston, Esqs, , \ ^^''^' 'f ^''^'^''^y^''^^"'^^- 

The Rev. Samuel Kirkland ) 
and Mr. James Dean, j" ^'^^'^^f^'^^^'-^'- 

And a full representation of the Six Indian Nations. 

" At the close of the Continental business, Ceneral Wolcott addressed 
the Indians as follows : 

" 'Sachems and Warriors, — We informed you some time past that 
•these gentlemen commissioners from the State of Pennsylvania had some 

65 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

public business to transact with you on the part of the said State. If 
they are ready to bring it forward, now will be a proper time.' 

"Upon which Colonel Atlee, in behalf of the Pennsylvania commis- 
sioners, delivered the following speech, prepared for the purpose : 

" ' Brothers of the Six Nations, — After a long separation of nine 
years, during which period the great Congress have been at war with 
and conquered their enemies from the other side of the great water, we, 
the commissioners from your old friends of Pennsylvania, with the con- 
sent of the United States in Congress assembled, are well pleased to 
meet you this day ; and from our hearts rejoice with you that peace and 
friendship are once more established by these honorable gentlemen, the 
commissioners of Congress.' 

" (Six Strings.) 

" 'Brothers, — Listen with great attention to what we are going to 
say to you. We come in the name and from the government of Penn- 
sylvania, of which you have already been informed ; our commission we 
here produce, which we will read to you publicly.' 

" (The commission was read.) 

" ' Brothers, — From the first coming of our fathers to this country, 
about one hundred years ago, to the time of the last treaty and purchase 
in 1768 at this place, which many of you now present must well remem- 
ber, your brothers of Pennsylvania, as they wanted lands for their young 
men to settle on, applied for and purchased from the natives from time 
to time such quantities within the bounds of their charter as they judged 
sufficient. 

" 'The several deeds for the different purchases we here produce, as 
authentic proofs of the justice of our conduct towards our brethren the 
Six Nations, and others claiming and possessing the country, — testimonies 
which cannot lie.' 

" (Produced the deeds.) 

" ' This last deed, brothers, with the map annexed, are descriptive of 
the purchase made sixteen years ago at this place ; one of the boundary 
lines calls for a creek by the name of Tyadoghton ; we wish our brothers 
the Six Nations to explain to us clearly which you call the Tyadoghton, 
as there are two creeks issuing from the Burnet's Hills, Pine and Tyco- 
ming. 

" ' Brothers, you will observe by our commission just now read to you 
that our present business is to satisfy you, as was our ancient custom, for 
the lands lying within the acknowledged limits of Pennsylvania, for 
which you have not heretofore received any compensation. 

" 'This compensation has been mutually agreed to by you and us in 
conference this morning. It was also agreed that, in addition to the 
goods we have now on this ground for your use, we should give our obli- 
gation for the amount of one thousand dollars in such goods as will best 

66 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

suit yourselves to be delivered at or near Tioga, on the Susquehanna, ort 
the first day of October next. It now remains for us mutually to carry 
into execution our respective agreements, and that in the most solemn 
and public manner, as it is our fixed determination that they shall be 
inviolate for ever. 

" ' Brothers, before we conclude we desire you to appoint some suit- 
able persons among yourselves to receive and distribute the goods with 
impartiality and justice, and that you will also nominate a fit person tO' 
attend running the boundary between you and us, when due notice shall 
be given thereof.' 

" (A Large Belt.) 

" To which they replied by Captain Aaron Hill, — 

" 'Brothers from Pennsylvania, — We have heard what you have 
said, and are well pleased with the same. The consideration we have 
fully agreed on, which we are to receive for the lands, and agreeable to 
your request have appointed Captain Aaron Hill, Onequiandahonjo, and 
Honeghariko, of the Mohawk tribe; Kayenthogkke, Thaghneghtanhari, 
and Teyagonendageghte, of the Seneca ; Obendirighton and Thoneeyade, 
pf the Cayuga ; Sagoyahalongo and Otoghfelonegh, Ojestalale, Oneyanha, 
Gaghsawweda, and Odaghfeghte, of the Oneida ; and Onefaghweughte- 
and Tharondawagon, of the Tuscarora, as suitable persons to receive the 
goods from you. 

" 'With regard to the creek called Tyadoghton, mentioned in your 
deed of 1768, we have already answered you, and again repeat it, it is the 
same you call Pine Creek, being the largest emptying into the west branch 
of the Susquehannah. 

"'Agreeable to your wish we have appointed Thaghneghtanhari to- 
attend your surveyor in running the line between you and us.' 

" ' We do certify that the foregoing speech was this day made by Cap- 
tain Aaron Hill, on behalf of the Six Nations, to the Pennsylvania com- 
missioners. 

" ' Witness our hands this twenty-third day of October, Anno Domini 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty- four. 

(Signed) " 'Samuel Kirkland, Missionary. 

James Dean, Interpreter.' 

" The deed was then produced and publicly read, when the chiefs of 
the respective nations sealed and delivered the same, saying, ' We deliver 
this as our grant and deed, and give up the land therein mentioned, 
according to the description thereof, to their brothers, the Pennsylva- 
nians, for their use forever.' After the same being witnessed, the com- 
missioners sealed and delivered the two obligations mentioned above, 
one for the delivery of the goods and the other for securing to them the 
privilege of hunting on the lands now purchased. 

67 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The council arose. 

" The foregoing is a true state of the proceedings of the Indian treaty 
at Fort Stanwix. 

" Griffith Evans, Secretary. 
"October 23, 1784." 

"The six Indian Nations, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
Deed for lands purchased October 23, 1784. 

" To ALL People to whom these presents shall come, We Anigwenda- 
honji and Teweghnitogon, Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian nation called 
the Mohocks. Kanonghgwenya, Atyatonenghtha, and Tatahonghteayon, 
Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian nation called the Oneidas. Obendarigh- 
ton and Keatarondyon, Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian nation called the 
Onondagoes. Oraghgwanentagon, Sachem of the Indian nation called the 
Cayogaes. Tayagoneatageghti, Tehonweeaghreyagi, Thaghnaghtanhari, 
Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian nation called the Senecas. And Onongh- 
sawanghti and Tharondawagon, Sachems or Chiefs of the Indian nation 
called the Tuscaroras, being met together in a general council of the Six 
Nations convened at Fort Stanwix, by the Honorable Oliver Wolcott, 
Richard Butler and Arthur Lee, P^squires, commissioners of Indian affairs, 
duly appointed by the honorable the Congress of the United States, for 
the northern and middle districts, send Greeting. Know ve that We 
the said Sachems or Chiefs, for and in consideration of the sum of five 
thousand dollars, to us in hand paid, before ensealing and delivery of 
these presents, by the honorable Samuel John Atlee, Esquire, and Wil- 
liam M'Clay, and Francis Johnson, Esquires, commissioners for and in 
behalf of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the receipt whereof We 
do hereby acknowledge Have granted bargained, sold, released and con- 
firmed, and by these presents, for us and the said Six Nations, and their 
confederates and dependent tribes, all of whom we represent, and by 
whom we are thereunto authorized and impowered. Do grant, bargain, 
sell, release and confirm unto the said Commonwealth, all that part of 
the said Commonwealth not yet purchased of the Indians within the 
acknowledged limits of the same, Becunning on the south side of the 
river Ohio, where the western boundary of the state of Pennsylvania 
crosses the said river, near Shingo's old Town, at the mouth of Beaver 
creek, and thence by a due north line to the end of the forty second and 
beginning of the forty-third degrees of north latitude, thence by a due 
east line seperating the forty second and forty third degrees of north lati- 
tude, to the east side of the east branch of the river Suscjuehanna, thence 
by the bounds of the late purchase made at Fort Stanwix, the fifth day 
of November, anno domini, one thousand seven hundred and sixty eight, 
as follows : ' Down the said east branch of Susi[uehanna, on the east side 
thereof, till it comes opi)osite to the mouth of ^ creek called by the In- 

68 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dians, Awandac, and across the river, and up the said creek on the south 
side thereof, and along the range of hills, called Burnett's Hills by the 
English, and by the Indians, ... on the north side of them to the 
head of a creek which runs into the west branch of Susquehannah, which 
creek is by the Indians called Tyadaghton, but by the Pennsylvanians 
Pine Creek, and down the said creek on the south side thereof, to the 
said west branch of Susijuehanna, then crossing the said river, and run- 
ning up the same on the south side thereof, the several courses thereof, 
to the fork of the same river, which lies nearest to a place on the river 
Ohio called Kittaning, and from the fork by a straight line to Kittaning 
aforesaid, and then down the said river Ohio by the several courses 
thereof, to where the western bounds of the said state of Pennsylvania 
crosses the same river,' at the place of Beginning. Together with all 
lakes, rivers, creeks, rivulets, springs, waters, soils, lands, fields, woods, 
underwoods, mountains, hills, valleys, savannahs, fens, swamps, isles, in- 
lets, mines, minerals, (juarries, rights, liberties, privileges, advantages, 
hereditaments, and appurtenances whatsoever, to the said tract of land 
and country belonging or in any wise appertaining, and all the right, 
title, interest, claim and demand whatsoever, of us the said sachems or 
chiefs, and of the said Six Nations, and their confederates and depend- 
ent tribes, and every of them, 'I'o have and to hold the said tract 
of land and country, with the appurtenances thereunto belonging, unto 
the said commonwealth to the only proper use and behoof of the said 
commonwealth. For ever, so that we, the said sachems or chiefs, nor 
any of us, nor the said Six Nations, nor their confederates and dependent 
tribes, nor any of them, nor any of our or their heirs, children oli- de- 
scendents, shall claim, demand or chalenge, any right, title, interest, or 
property, of, in, or to the said tract of land or country, but from the 
same shall be forever barred and excluded ; and the same tract of land 
and country, shall forever hereafter be peaceably and cjuietly possessed 
by the said commonwealth, and all persons, who shall settle thereon, 
under the authority of the same, without the let, hindrance, molestation, 
interruption, or denial of us the said sachems or chiefs, or the said Six 
Nations, or their confederates, and dependent tribes, or any of them, or 
of our or their heirs, children, or descendents. In Witness Whereof, 
We the said sachems or chiefs, for ourselves and the rest of the Six Na- 
tions, and their confederates and dependent tribes, have hereunto set our 
hands and seals. Dated at Fort Stanwix aforesaid, this twenty third day 
of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and 
eighty four. 

"Oraghgwanentagon, his X mark, L. S. 

Tavagoneatageghti, his X mark, L. S. 

Tehonweeaghrevagi, his X mark, L. S. 

Thagh.nagtanhari, his X mark, L. S. 
69 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSOx\ COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Ononghsawanghti, his X mark, L S. 
Tharoxdawacox, his X mark, T.. S. 
Anigwendahoxji, his X mark, T.. S. 
Teweghnitogon, his X mark, L. S. 
Kanonghgwenva, his X mark, L. S. 
Atvatoxenghtha, his X mark, L. S. 
Tatahonghteayon, his X mark, L. S. 
Obendarightox, his X mark, L. S. 
Keataroxdyox, his X mark, L. S. 
" Sealed and delivered in the presence of us, 
^' Oliver WoLcoTT, ^ 
Arthur Lee, V United States Commissioners. 

Richard Butler, j 
Aaron Hill, 
Samuel Kirkland, Missionary. 

" James Deax, Intei-preter. 
Alexaxder Campbell, Sec. Com. U. S. 
Saimuel Moxtgomerv, ^g. i>' St. K. C C. 
G. Evans, Sec. Pcnns. Ind. Commis. 

^' State of Pennsvlvaxia, ^.5. 

" Be it Remembered, That on the seventeenth day of February, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty five, and in 
the ninth year of the independence of the LTnited States of America, 
came the honourable Arthur Lee, Esquire, LL.D. one of the commis- 
sioners of the United States of America for holding treaties with the 
Indian nations, and Grifhth Evans, Esquire, Secretary to the commission- 
ers of the said State of Pennsylvania, for treating and purchasing, &c. of 
said Indians, before the honourable Thomas McKean Esq., doctor of 
Laws, chief justice of the supreme court of the said state of Pennsyl- 
vania, and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty (rod, that 
they were present and did see the thirteen Indian sachems or chiefs, in the 
above deed named as grantors, make the signatures or marks to their 
respective names adjoining, and seal and deliver the above conveyance, 
as and for their act and deed, that they severally subscribed their names 
as witnesses thereof, and also seen the other seven witnesses subscribe 
their names as witnesses to the same, and that the names Arthur Lee and 
G. Evans above subscribed, are of their respective hand writing. 

" Ix Testimoxv, Whereof I have hereunto put my hand and seal the 

day and year above said. 

"Thos M'Kkax, L. S." 

FORT Mcintosh. 

After having successfully completed their mission to Fort Stanwix, 
the Pennsylvania commissioners, accompanied by those representing the 

70 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

United States, immediately proceeded to Fort Mcintosh, on the Ohio 

River, now the site of the present town of Beaver, to treat with the 

Wyandott and Delaware Indians, who claimed rights in the same lands 

ceded to the State by the treaty at Fort Stanwix. The following are the 

proceedings : 

"Fort McIntosh, January, 1785. 

" III Council, January g, lySj. 
"present. 

The Hon. George Rogers Clarke, r 

Richard Butler, and - Commissioners on part of the 

Arthur Lee, Esqs. , ( ^""'^''^ ^^''^''- 

The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee and f Commissioners on part of the 

Francis Johnston, Esqs., [ State of Pennsylvania. 
Griffith Evans, Secretary. 
John Montour, Interpreter. 
And the chiefs, etc., of the Wyandott, Delaware, Chippewa, and 
Ottawa Indian Nations. 

" The commissioners on part of the United States, in consequence of 
the State commissioners' letter of yesterday, addressed the Indians as 
follows : 

"'Sachems and Warriors, — These gentlemen, Colonel Atlee and 
Colonel Johnston, are commissioners from the State of Pennsylvania, 
who have attended here by consent of Congress to transact some public 
business with you on the part of said State, which they will be ready to 
introduce after the present treaty is concluded.' 

"Note. — It appearing to the commissioners that the Wyandott and 
Delaware nations were the only claimants of the unpurchased lands in 
Pennsylvania among the western Indians, consequently the present nego- 
tiations on part of the State are confined to them. 

" //« Conference, January 14, 178 J. 



PRESENT. 

E and ~i 

Commissioners. 



The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee and ] 
Francis Johnston, Esqs., j 

Griffith Evans, Secretary. 
John Montour and ) 
Joseph Nicholson, j ^'^t'^-p^'t^^^- 
And the chiefs of the Wyandott and Delaware Indian 
nations. 

" The commissioners addressed them in the following words by Colonel 
Atlee : 

71 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" 'Brothers, — We have been long separated by the wars that have 
subsisted between us, which are now terminated and over. We are very 
glad to meet you here, and have great occasion to rejoice that we have 
an opportunity of brightening the chain of friendship between us, and we 
hope soon to take you by the hand in a happy and lasting peace, — when 
established by the commissioners from Congress. 

" ' We have called you together this morning with a view of explain- 
ing to you the nature of the business we have to negotiate with you. 

" ' Brothers, we are commissioned and sent from your old friends of 
Pennsylvania to purchase of the natives all the unpurchased lands within 
the territory of Pennsylvania. For this purpose we met your brothers 
and uncles, the Si.x. Nations, last October at Fort Stanwix, and, accord- 
ing to our ancient custom, purchased the said lands of them, and this is 
the deed they gave us to confirm the same.' 

" (Then produced the deed executed by the Six Nations last October, 
and also a map of the country explaining the same to them.) 

" ' Your brothers and uncles suggested to us that they had a right to 
act for you also in disposing of this land ; but hearing you claimed, and 
knowing that you hunted on, part of this ground, we conceived we had 
better meet you ourselves on the subject, that we might also see each 
other and remove all obstructions out of the way between us. We have, 
therefore, reserved a proportion of the presents, and have brought them 
with us to give you as a compensation for your right to this country. 

" ' The amount of what we have reserved is two thousand dollars, con- 
sisting of an excellent assortment of goods of the first quality, calculated 
in the best manner to supply your wants, which is a greater proportion 
than what we have given to your uncles the Six Nations, and is certainly 
a very generous consideration. 

" ' You are now fully informed of our business with you. We earn- 
estly desire that you may think seriously of it, for what we are about to 
do must be as permanent as the sun. We wish you to go and consult 
together upon our words, and let us know your minds as soon as con- 
venient. 

" ' Brothers, we inform you that it is not our wish to settle our business 
finally with you previous to the conclusion of the Continental treaty, 
but only that we may fully understand each other and have our minds 
prepared, that when the commissioners on the part of the United States 
shall have comjileted their business we may have ours ready to bring 
on.' 

"To which they replied by Captain Pipe, of the Delawares, — viz. : 

" 'Brothers, — We rejoice from our hearts to see our brothers from 
Pennsylvania, and are very glad that we are likely once more to live in 
peace and friendship with you. Your speech is very pleasing to us. 
You have told us the business you have meet us here upon, and we think 

72 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

we fully understand you. We will council together and let you know 
our minds some time soon. 

" '■ Brothers, we are glad to hear of your having met with our uncles, 
the Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix, and that they have given up their 
lands to you, agreeable to the deed you just showed us.' 

" /// Coiifere/iLi\ Present as before. 

" Captain Pipe spoke in behalf of the Wyandott and Delaware nations 
as follows : 

"'Brothers of Pennsylvania, — We met last night and counselled 
together upon the speech you delivered to us yesterday. We thank you 
for saving some of your presents for us, for in this, brothers, you were 
very right, for our fathers always told us, and we tell our children, that 
from Vinango to Little Beaver Creek, and out to the lake was our hunt- 
ing-ground. But we have now all agreed to let our brothers, the Penn- 
sylvanians, have it, excepting a few tracts, which we would Avish to 
reserve, that we might make a present of a piece of ground to you and 
your young men for meeting us here at this inclement season, and that 
we may have it in our power to fulfil our promise to some of our friends, 
which we made long ago.' 

"To which the commissioners replied, — 

" ' Brothers, — We thank you for your kind offer, but we cannot, con- 
sistent with our instructions from the State, agree to any reservations. 
Our purchase must be for our whole claim. At the same time, we have 
no doubt, but that if any individuals have just claims to any part of these 
lands, that upon application being made to the government of Pennsyl- 
vania, they will be properly attended to.' 

"The chiefs, after consulting together for some time, answered, — 

" ' Well, then, we have agreed that this country shall be yours, and 
that our brothers of Pennsylvania shall have it forever.' 

"The commissioners then thanked them, and said, — 

" ' We shall expect a deed from you for these lands, and we request you 
will nominate the persons who are to sign it, that it may be ready for 
execution at the proper season, when we will meet you in public council ; 
and also that you would appoint fit persons to receive the goods from us, 
when we shall be ready to deliver them out. ' 

" They replied that Montour, the interpreter, should wait on the com- 
missioners the next day and give them the names of those persons. 

" Conference ended. 

"January l6, 1785. 

" Montour, agreeable to the appointment of yesterday, attended the 
commissioners, and returned the names of the following persons, who 
were to sign the deed, — viz., Deungquat, or the Half King, Tauwarah, 
6 73 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

or the Sweat House, and Abraham Kuhn, of the Wyandotts ; and Kee- 
skanohen, or the Pipe, Peechemelind, or the Present, Wialindeoghin, 
or the Council Door, Hyngapushes, or the Big Cat, Tatabaughsey, or 
the Twisting Vine, and Whingohatong, or the Vokmteer, of the Dela- 
wares. And Abraham Kuhn, Wialindeoghin, and Wingenum, to receive 
the goods. 

" //? Coitncil, January 21, lySj. 

" PRESENT. 

The Hon. George Rogers Clarke, ^ ^ . . ^ . r .; 

, / Commissioners on part oj the 

Richard Butler, and ^ tt -^ j c^ j^ 

^ \ United estates. 

Arthur Lee, Esqs., J 

Alexander Campbell, Secretary. 

The Hon. Samuel F. Atlee and } Commissioners on part of the 

Francis Johnson, Esqs., j State of Pennsylvania. 
Griffith Evans, Secretary. 
Joseph Nicholson and John Montour, Interpreters. 
And the deputies of the Wyandott, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa 
and Muncy Indian nations. 

"Upon the completion of the Continental treaty, the Pennsylvania 
commissioners delivered the following speech by Colonel Atlee : 

"'Brothers of the Wyandott and Delaware Nations, — Listen 
with attention to what your brothers of Pennsylvania are going to say. 
You have been informed by the Continental commissioners at their first 
meeting that we come from the government of Pennsylvania as com- 
missioners duly authorized to transact public business with you, as will 
appear by our commission under the seal of the State, which we will read 
to you.' 

"(Read the commission.) 

" ' Pursuant to this commission, we met your brothers and uncles, the 
Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix in October last, and after a solemn peace 
was established with them by the honorable commissioners of the United 
States, we, in conformity to ancient custom, purchased their right to all 
the lands within the acknowledged limits of Pennsylvania not already 
purchased of them, for which we gave a valuable consideration in goods 
of the first quality. 

" 'That this may be known to all, we here produce their deed exe- 
cuted to us in the most public manner, and witnessed by the honorable 
commissioners of Congress, Captain Aaron Hill, a chief of the Mohawk 
tribe, and several others. 

"'Now, brothers, as you have been called together to this place 

74 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

by the honorable the commissioners of the United States, we, by consent 
of Congress, are happy to meet you, and rejoice that peace and friend- 
ship are once more established among us. In testimony of our sin- 
cerity we present you with these strings.' 

"■ (Five Strings.) 

"'Brothers, — Knowing that for some time past you have hunted 
upon and claimed a portion of the lands within Pennsylvania, and being 
actuated by the strict principles of peace and justice towards you in the 
same degree that you have seen we have manifested to your brothers and 
uncles, the Six Nations, and to prevent future trouble between your 
people and ours, we have determined, according to the known usage of 
Pennsylvania, to give you the consideration agreed upon between us, for 
this purpose we have brought with us a quantity of the best goods such 
as will minister to your relief and comfort. These goods shall be de- 
livered out to proper persons appointed by each nation to receive them ; 
and that no misunderstanding may arise in future, a map of the land we 
wish to have confirmed to the Commonwealth shall be affixed to the 
deed to be executed by you, that your children and ours, may hereafter 
have recourse to the same. ' 

"(A Belt.) 

"To which they, by the Half King, chief of the Wyandotts, re- 
plied, — 

" ' Brothers of Pennsylvania, — Give attention to what we shall say 
to you. Your words have pleased us very much, and we all thank you 
for your kindness towards us ; our grandfathers have always said that 
your conduct towards them was just the same you discover to us now. 
Pennsylvania has never deceived or wronged us out of anything, and we 
all thank you not only from our lips, but also from our hearts for your 
honesty.' 

"(Three Strings.) 

" The commissioners then produced the deed-'- that was prepared, and 
informed them it was ready for them to execute, when the persons who 
had been appointed for the purpose walked forward and sealed and de- 
livered the same, in the most solemn manner, in the presence of many 
witnesses, as their quit-claim and deed for the land therein described, for 
the use of Pennsylvania forever. 

" The council fire was raked up. 

" The foregoing is a true state of the proceedings of the Indian treaty 
held at Fort Mcintosh. 

"Griffith Evans, Secretary. 

"January 23, 1785." 



* The deed executed at Fort Mcintosh, excepting the consideration money men- 
tioned, which was two tliousand dollars instead of five thousand dollars, is in the same 

75 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



GOODS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE INDIANS AT FORT 
STANVVIX. 

" The Supreme Executive Council )iict. 

"Philadelphia, August 28, 1784, Saturday. 

" PRESENT. 

His Excellency John Dickinson, Esquire, President. 
The Honorable James Irvine, Sainiuel John Atlee, >> 

John McDowell, Bernard Dpugherty, l Esqrs. 

and Stephen Balliott, John Boyd, J 

" Council having considered the resolution of the General'Assembly 
of the twenty fifth instant, it was 

" Ordered, That the Commissioners be requested to procure immedi- 
ately the undermentioned articles, but if the sum of three thousand and 
three hundred and seventy five pounds will not be sufficient to purchase 
the whole, that then they be desired to reduce the quantity or number of 
such of the articles as they shall think fit. 

words, and for the same lands with the same boundaries as the deed previously signed 
by the Sachems and Chiefs of the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix. It is dated at Fort 
Mcintosh, the 21st day of January, 1785, and signed by the Sachems and Chiefs of the 
two tribes as follows : 

WiALiNDEOGHiN, or the Council Door, X his mark, L. S. 

Hyngapushes, or the Big Cat, X his mark, L. S. 

Tatabaughsey, or the Twisting Vine, X his mark, L. S. 

Whingohatong, or the Volunteer, X his mark, L. S. 

Deungquat, or the Half King, X his mark, D. S. 

Tauwarah, or the Sweat House, X his mark, L. S. 

Abraham Kuhn, X his mark, L. S. 

Keeskanohen, or the Pipe, X his mark, L. S. 

Peechemelind, or the Present, X his mark, L. S. 

[Sealed.] 

Sealed and delivered in presence of 
G. R. Clark, ^ 

Richard Butler, \ Contviissioners of the United Slates, 
Arthur Lee, J 
Jos. Harmer, Lieutenant-Colonel Com., 
Alexd. Lowrey, 
John Boggs, 
\Vm. Butler, 

Alex. Campuell, Secretary Commissioners United States, 
W. Bradi'ORD, 
Daniel Elliot, 
John Montour, Interpreter, 

G. Evans, Secretary Pennsylvania Commissioners, 
Edw. Butler. 

76 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



20I/2 casks of gun powder. 

1 ton of bar lead. 

2 groce of thimbles. 
2 do jews harps. 

50 dozen white ruffled shirts. 

5 do laced hats. 

50 do knives. 

10 do hatchets. 

10 do pipe tomahawks. 

12 do looking glasses. 

2 M awl blades. 

5 M needles. 

I C. Vermillion. 

50 rifles. 

60 M wampum — 30 white, 30 black. 

12 dozen silver arm bands. 

12 do wrist bands. 

20 dozen pipes, Moravian. 

20 do callicoe shirts. 

1 hogshead of tobacco. 

500 lb of brass kettles in nests, 

complete. 
100 lb of small white beads. 

2 gross of morrice bells. 

5 dozen of pieces of yellow, green 
and purple ribbon. 



5 pieces of embossed flannel. 
60 dozen broaches. 

2 do gorgets. 
12 do nosebobs. 
1 2 do hair pipes. 
12 do rings. 

6 pieces scarlet broad cloth. 
100 lb of brass wire. 

20 dozen silk handkerchiefs. 

2 do pieces of callicoe. 

4 dozen of saddles and bridles. 

1,000 flints, or i keg. 

I gross sheers. 

I do scissars. 

I do horn combs. 

I do ivory do. 

50 lb of thread sorted. 

I 2 gross scarlet and star gartering. 

1 2 do green and yellow bedlace. 

3 hogsheads of rum. 

30 p's best London stroud. 
30 do French match coats. 
10 do blankets. 

20 do half thicks, purple and white 
nap. 



" Ordered, That a warrant be issued to the Treasurer for the sum of 
three thousand three hundred and seventy five pounds specie, in favor of 
the Commissioners appointed to negotiate a purchase from the Indians 
claiming the unpurchased territory within the limits of this State, to be 
applied to the purchase of the article above enumerated, in pursuance of 
the resolution of the General Assembly of the twenty fifth inst." — Colo- 
nial Records, vol. xiv. p. 186. 



COMMISSIONERS ON INDIAN TRE.\TY, 17S5. 

" Sir, — In pursuance of the Order of Council of 30th July last, I have 
made out a List of the Goods necessary to be furnished the Indians in 
October next w'' I do myself the honor to inclose. 

" I am your Excellency's 

"most Obedient Serv't, 

" F. Johnston. 
" Directed, 

"To His Excellency John Dickinson, Esqr. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" A list of the goods to be furnished the six nations of Indians on the 
First day of October next. 

8 pieces Blue Stroud. 2 Dozen Ivory ditto. 

20 pairs 3 point Match Coats. 25 lb Vermillion. 

60 pairs 2)4 point ditto. 50 Gallons Pjarbadoes rum. 

25 yards Scarlet Flannel. 56 lb Gun powder. 

I Piece Scarlet Broad Cloth. 400 lb Barr Lead. 

100 White Ruffled Shirts. 300 lb Tobacco. 

50 Callico ditto. i Kegg pipes. 

18 French Castors. 3 Pieces Gartering. 
6 Dozen coarse Combs. 



Aug't 10, 17S5. 



— Pennsylvania Archives, vol. x. p. 496. 



CHAPTER V. 



TITLES AND SURVEYS — PIONEER SURVEYS AND SURVEYORS — DISTRICT LINES 
RUN IN NORTHUMBERLAND, NOW JEFFERSON, COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

"In 1670 Admiral Sir William Penn, an officer in the English navy, 
died. The government owed this officer sixteen hundred pounds, and 
William Penn, Jr., fell heir to this claim. King Charles II. liquidated 
this debt by granting to William Penn, Jr., 'a tract of land in Amer- 
ica, lying north of Maryland and west of the Deleware River, extend- 
ing as far west as plantable.' King Charles signed this deed March 4, 
1 661. William Penn, Jr., was then ])roprietor, with power to form a 
government. Penn named the grant Pennsylvania, in honor of his father. 
In 16S2 Penn published his form of government and laws. After making 
several treaties and visiting the Indians in the interior as far as Cones- 
toga, Penn sailed for P'.ngland, June 12, 1684, and remained away till 
December i, 1699. On his return he labored to introduce reforms in the 
provincial government, but failed. He negotiated a new treaty of peace 
with the Sustj^uehanna Indians and also with the Inve Nations. In the 
spring of 1701 he made a second journey into the interior, going as far 
as the Susquehanna and Swatara. Business complications having arisen, 
Penn sailed for luigland in the fall, and arrived there the middle of De- 
cember, 1 701. Owing to straitened financial circumstances, he entered 
into an agreement with Queen Anne, in •1712, to cede to her the prov- 
ince of Pennsylvania and the Lower Counties for the sum of twelve thou- 
sand pounds sterling; but before the legal papers were completed he 
was stricken with paralysis, and died July 30, 1718, aged seventy-four. 
While Penn accomplished much, he also suffered much. He was perse- 

78 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

cuted for his religion, imprisoned for debt, and tried for treason. After 
his death it was found that, owing to the complication of his affairs and 
the peculiar construction of his will, a suit in chancery to establish his 
legal heirship was necessary. Several years elapsed before the question 
was decided, when the Proprietaryship of the province descended to 
John, Richard, and Thomas Penn. John died in 1746 and Richard in 
1 771, when John, Richard's son, and Thomas became sole Proprietaries. 
But the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence soon caused a 
radical change in the provincial government." — Alcginuis. 

During the Revolution the Penn family were Tories, adherents of 
England, and on the 27th of November, 1779, the Legislature of Penn- 
sylvania confiscated all their property except certain manors, etc., of 
which surveys and returns had been made prior to the 4th of July, 1776. 
The Penns were granted as a compensation for these confiscations one 
hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling. This ended the rule of 
the Penns in America. The treaty of peace between England and what 
is now the United States was ratified by Congress in January, 1784. All 
foreign domination or rule in the colonies then ceased, but internal 
troubles with the savages still continued in this State in the north and 
northwest. 

" The Indians were jealous of their rights, and restive under any real 
or fancied encroachments that might be made upon them, and it re- 
cpiired the exercise of great care, caution, and prudence on the part of 
the authorities to avert trouble on the northern and western boundaries 
of the State ; and this they did not always succeed in doing, as many 
adventurous spirits, pushing far out into the unsettled wilderness, discov- 
ered to their sorrow. Fortunately, however, by the treaty of October, 
17S4, with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, and that of January, 1785, 
with the Wyandots and Delawares at Fort Mcintosh, the Indian title 
was extinguished to all the remaining territory within the then acknowl- 
edged limits of the State which had been previously purchased. The 
boundaries of that great northwestern section of the State covered by 
this purchase may be briefly described as follows : Beginning on the east 
branch of the Susquehanna River where it crosses the northern boundary 
of the State in Bradford County ; thence down the east branch to the 
mouth of Towanda Creek ; thence up Towanda Creek to its head- 
waters ; thence by a straight line west to the head waters of Pine Creek ; 
thence down Pine Creek to the west branch of the Susquehanna \ thence 
up the west branch to Cherry Tree in Clearfield County ; thence by a 
straight line to Kittanning, on the Allegheny River, in Armstrong County; 
thence down the Allegheny River to the Ohio River ; thence down the 
Ohio River to where it crosses the western boundary to Lake Erie ; and 
thence east along the northern boundary of the State to the beginning. 
And within this territory at the present day we find the counties of 

79 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Tioga, Potter, McKean, Warren, Crawford, Venango, Forest, Clarion, 
Elk, Jefferson, Cameron, Butler, Lawrence, and ISIercer, and parts of the 
counties of Bradford, Clinton. Clearfield, Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny, 
Beaver, and Erie." — Auinial Report of lutcnial Affairs. 

The Indians received for this territory ten thousand dollars in cash. 
Our wilderness was then in Northumberland County. "All land within 
the late (1784) purchase from the Indians, not heretofore assigned to any 
other particular county, shall be taken and deemed to be within the 
limits of Northumberland County and Westmoreland County. And that 
from Kittanning up the Allegheny to the mouth of Conewango Creek, 
and from thence up said creek to the northern line of this State, shall be 
the line between Northumberland County." — Smith's Laws, vol. ii. 

P- 325- 

"Under the Proprietary government which ended 27th November, 

1779, land was disposed to whom, on what terms, in such quantities, and 
such locations as the proprietor or his agents saw proper. The unoccu- 
pied lands were never put in the market, nor their sale regulated by law. 
Every effort made by the Assembly to secure uniformity in the sale and 
price of land was resisted by the ])roprietor as an infringement upon his 
manorial rights. After the Commonwealth became vested with the pro- 
prietary interests, a law was passed April 9, 17S1, for establishing the 
land-office, for the purpose of enabling those persons to whom grants 
had been made to jjerfect their titles. July i, 1784, an act was passed 
opening the land-office for the sale of vacant lands in the purchase of 
1768. The price was fixed at ^10 per 100 acres, or n^ i cents per acre, 
in addition to the warrant survey and ]:)atent fees, and the quantity in 
each warrant limited to 400 acres and the 6 per cent, allowance. The 
purchase of 1784 having been completed and confirmed by the treaty at 
Fort Mcintosh, January, 1785, the land-office was opened for the sale of 
lands in the new purchase December 21, 1785, at which the price was 
fixed at ^30 i)er 100 acres, and warrants were allowed to contain 1000 
acres, with 10 i)er cent, overplus, besides the usual allowance." This 
is the reason why so many old warrants contained 11 00 acres, with 6 
per cent., or 60 more acres. " Nevertheless, the price of the land was 
placed so high that but {^\\ si)eculators ventured to invest in the hilly 
and heavily timbered lands of Northern Pennsylvania. Under the pressure 
of certain land-jobbers, who were holding important offices (?) in the 
Commonwealth, like John Nicholson, Robert Morris, and William Bing- 
ham, an act was i)assed Ai)ril 3, 1792, in wliich the price of vacant lands 
was reduced to 50 shillings per 100 acres, or 6-3 cents per acre. Specu- 
lation ran wild. Ai)plications for warrants poured into the office by tens 
of thousands. The law, while it appeared to favor persons of small means, 
and prevent the wealthy from acrpuring large portions of the public domain, 
was so drawn that by means of fictitious applications and poll deeds — 

80 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

that is, mere assignments of the appHcation without the formalities of ac- 
knowledgment — any party could possess himself of an unlimited quan- 
tity of the unappropriated lands. Within a year or two nearly all the 
lands in the county (then Northumberland) had been applied for, Nich- 
olson, Morris, Bingham, James D. Le Roy, Henry Drinker, John 
Vaughan, Pickering, and Hodgdon being the principal holders." — 
Craffs History of Bradford County, pp. 40, 41. 

" When, in the pursuance of this policy which had been adopted by 
William Penn, by treaties with and by purchases of the Indians, they 
finally became divested of their original title to all the lands in Pennsyl- 
vania : then, under what was called ' The Late Purchase,' which covered 
all of this section of country and included it in Northumberland County, 
in the year 1785 certain warrants, called ' Lottery Warrants,' were issued 
by governmental authority to persons who would pay twenty pounds per 
hundred acres, authorizing them to enter upon the lands and make selec- 
tions where they pleased. This was done to some extent, and on those 
warrants surveys were made ; but, as there was no road by which emi- 
grants could come into the country, no settlements could be made in any 
place except where the sturdy pioneer could push his canoe, ignoring, or 
overcoming all the privations and difficulties incident to a pioneer life in 
such a wilderness." 

With a desire to give a complete history of the pioneer surveys of the 
county, I addressed a letter to Hon. L B. Brown, Deputy Secretary of 
Internal Affairs, asking for all the information known by the State. I 
herewith submit his reply, — viz. : 

" Department of Internal Affairs, 
" Harrisburg, Pa., March 7, 1S95. 

"■ Mr. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of the 5th instant, we beg to 
say that prior to the opening of the land olhce in May, 1785, for the sale 
of lands within the purchase of 1784, that part of the purchase lying east 
of the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek was divided into eighteen 
districts, and a deputy surveyor appointed for eacli. These districts were 
numbered consecutively, beginning with No. i, on the Allegheny River, 
and running eastward. The southern line of district No. i began on the 
old purchase line of 1768 at Kittanning, and following that line in suc- 
cessive order were districts Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the latter terminating 
at the marked cherry-tree on the bank of the west branch of the Susque- 
hanna River at Canoe Place. From that point the district line between 
the sixth and seventh districts, as then constituted, is supposed to be the 
line that divides the present counties of Indiana and Jefferson from the 
county of Clearfield as far north as Sandy Lick Creek. 

"An old draft and report, found among the records of this depart- 

Si 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ment, show that Robert (ialbraith, one of the early surveyors of Bedford 
County, ran the purchase line of 1768 from the cherry-tree to Kittanning 
for the purpose of marking it and ascertaining also the extent of the sev- 
eral survey districts north of the line and between the two points. This 
draft and accompanymg report are without date, but the survey was pre- 
sumably made during the summer of 1786. A reference to the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Galbraith by the surveyor-general to perform this work, and 
the confirmation of the appointment by the Supreme Executive Council 
on the Sth of April, 17S6, appear in the ' Colonial Records,' vol. xv. pp. 
3 and 4. In the same volume, p. 85, is found the record of an order in 
favor of Galbraith for forty-five pounds, twelve shillings, to be in full for 
his services in running and marking the line and Maying off' the dis- 
tricts of the deputy-surveyors. He says in his report, ' I began at the 
marked cherry-tree and measured along the purchase line seven miles and 
forty perches for James Potter's district, thence fifty-four perches to the 
line run by lames Johnston for the east line of his district ; from the post 
marked for James Potter's district seven miles and forty perches to a post 
marked for James Johnston's district, thence fifty-two perches to the line 
run by James Hamilton for the east line of his district ; from Johnston's 
post seven miles and forty perches to the post marked for James Hamil- 
ton's district, thence fifty-two perches to the line run by George Wood, 
Jr.; for the east line of his district ; from the post marked for Hamilton's 
district six miles and one hundred and fifty-two perches to the line run 
by Thomas B. McClean for the east line of his district, thence two hun- 
dred and eight perches to the post marked for George Wood, Jr.'s, dis- 
trict, thence six miles and one hundred and fifty perches to the line run 
by John Buchanan for the east line of his district, thence two hundred 
and ten perches to the post marked for Thomas Brown McClean's dis- 
trict, thence two miles and one hundred and twenty perches to the Alle- 
gheny River for John Buchanan's district.' 

" With the exception of the first, these districts each extended seven 
miles and forty perches along the purchase line, with the division lines 
between them running north to the line of New York. Undoubtedly the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth districts, of which James Hamilton, James John- 
ston, and General James Potter were respectively the deputy- surveyors, 
must have embraced, if not all, at least much the larger part of the terri- 
tory that subsecjuently became the county of Jefferson, while the earliest 
surveys were made within that territory during the summer of 17S5 by 
the surveyors named. It is possible, however, that part of the third dis- 
trict, of which (ieorge Wood, Jr., was the deputy surveyor, may have 
been within these limits, and if so, surveys were no doubt also made 
by him. These first surveys were principally made and returned on 
the first warrants granted within the purchase, commonly known as the 
lottery warrants, and many of them in the name of Timothy Pickering 

82 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and Company were located on lands that are now within Jefferson 
County. 

" General James Potter died in the year 1789, and was succeeded by 
his son, James Potter, who was appointed in 1790. One of the reasons 
given for the appointment of James Potter, second, was that he had filled 
the position of an assistant to his father, and had done so much of the 
actual work in the field, and was therefore so thoroughly conversant with 
the lines of surveys already run, that he would avoid the interferences 
another person might fall into, thus preventing future trouble arising from 
conflicting locations. It does not appear, however, that the second James 
Potter ever did any work in the district, as the deputies' lists of surveys 
on file in the land-office show no returns from him. 

"Soon after the year 1790 a change was made by the surveyor-gen- 
eral in the arrangement of the districts within the purchase of 1784, by 
which the number was reduced to six, counting west from the mouth of 
Lycoming Creek to the Allegheny River. In this arrangement the two 
western districts, Nos. 5 and 6, were assigned respectively to William P. 
Brady and Enion Williams. Williams was succeeded in 1794 by John 
Broadhead. Brady's district is described as ' beginning at a cherry-tree of 
late General Potter's district, and from thence extending by district No. 
4 due north to the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, thence by the 
same west fourteen miles, thence south to the line of purchase of 1768, 
late the southern boundary of James Johnston's and General Potter's dis- 
tricts, and by the same to the place of beginning.' 

" The sixth district comprised all the territory west of Brady's dis- 
trict to the Allegheny River and Conewango Creek All of the present 
county of Jefferson must have been within these districts. The surveys 
made and returned by Brady, Williams, and Broadhead, for the Holland 
Company, John Nicholson, Robert Morris, and other large purchasers of 
lands, are so numerous as to practically cover all the lands left unsurveyed 
by their predecessors within that particular section of the State. A small 
part of the county, in the vicinity of Brockwayville, was in Richard 
Shearer's district, No.. 7, east of General Potter's line, and a number of 
lottery warrants \vas surveyed by Shearer in that locality in 17S5. That 
part of the county subsequently fell within district No. 4, of which James 
Hunter was the surveyor, who also returned a few surveys. 

"In what manner these pioneer surveyors in the wilderness were 
equipped, and what the outfit for their arduous and difficult labors may 
have been, we do not know and have no means of ascertaining. Doubt- 
less they had many severe trials and endured many hardships in preparing 
the way for future settlements and advancing civilization, for which they 
receive little credit or remembrance at this day. Possibly their only 
equipment was the ordinary surveyor's compass and the old link chain of 
those days, but they nevertheless accomplished much work that remains 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

valuable down to the present time. For their labor they were paid by 
fees fixed by law. The law of that day also provided a per diem wage 
of three shillings for chain-carriers, to be paid by the purchaser of the 
land. 

" Very truly yours, 

" Isaac B. Brown, 

" Secretary.''^ 

You will see from the above that in 1785, Richard Shearer, with his 
chain-carriers and his axe-men, traversed what is now Brockwayville and 
the forest east of it ; that James Potter, with his chain- carriers and axe- 
men, traversed the forests near Temples, now Warsaw ; that James John- 
ston, with his chain-carriers and axe men, traversed the forest where 
Brookville now is, and that James Hamilton, with his chain-carriers and 
axe men, traversed the forest near or where Corsica now is. Each of these 
lines ran directly north to the New York line. Where these lines ran was 
then all in Northumberland County. In 1794, James Hunter, with his 
chain-carriers and axe- men, was in what is now Brockwayville region, 
William P. Brady, with his chain-carriers and axe-men, was in what is 
now the Temple region, and Enion Williams and John Broadhead, with 
chain-carriers and axe-men, were between where Brookville now is and 
the Clarion region. This wilderness was then in Pine Creek township, 
Northumberland County. 

Elijah M. (zraham was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Oc- 
tober 19, 1772. His father's name was John Graham, who served five 
years in the Continental army. 

Elijah M. Graham was one of the original explorers of what is now Jef- 
ferson County, Pennsylvania. He explored this region in 1794 under 
Deputy-Surveyor John Broadhead. In that year Broadhead surveyed the 
district line which now forms the western boundary of Brookville borough. 
Broadhead and his party of nine men were in this wilderness surveying 
from May until the middle of October, 1794. The party consisted of 
Department-Surveyor Broadhead, two chain-carriers (Elijah M. Graham 
and Elisha Graham, brothers), two axe-men (unknown), one cook (un- 
known), one driver with two horses (unknown), and two other men (un- 
known), one of whom was a hunter. These parties crossed streams on log 
floats, encamped in log huts, and carried their outfit and their ])rovisions 
on pack horses from what is now h^anklin, Pennsylvania, and from some 
point then in Westmoreland County, I'ennsylvania. Graham was six 
months on this survey without seeing a paleface other tlian those that 
comprised the party. 

In 1797, Elijah M. Graham located on Trench Creek, now Crawford 
County, Pennsylvania, where he resided with his father until 1804, when 
he returned to this wilderness and worked on Joseph Barnett's mill for three 

84 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

years, when and where he married Miss Sarah Ann Barnett and located 
on the State Road near and afterwards in what is now Eldred township. 
He was the first court crier, and served in various township offices. 

In 1804 there were but seven or eight families here, — viz., the Bar- 
netts, Longs, Joneses, Vasbinders, and Dixons, and one colored family. 

Mr. Graham reared a family of ten children, only three or four of 
whom, including J. B., are now living. Elijah M. Graham died in 
1854, aged eighty- two years. 

John Graham, Elijah M. Graham's father, moved to Jefferson County 
from Crawford County about 181 2, locating about three miles northeast 
of Brookville, where he died in 18 13, and this Revolutionary soldier was 
buried in the first graveyard, now in East Brookville, the land owned 
and occupied by W. C. P^vans. 

" By an act of the Legislature, passed April i, 1794, the sale of these 
lands was authorized. The second section of this law provides that all 
lands west of the Allegheny Mountains shall not be more than three 
pounds ten shillings for every one hundred acres. 

" Section four provides that the quantity of land granted to one per- 
son shall not exceed four hundred acres. Section six provides for the 
survey and laying out of these lands by the surveyor-general or his depu- 
ties into tracts of not more than five hundred acres and not less than two 
hundred acres, to be sold at public auction at such times as the ' Supreme 
Executive Council may direct.' 

" When all claims had been paid, ' in specie or money of the State,' 
for patenting, surveying, etc., a title was granted to the purchaser. In 
case he was not ready or able to make full payment at the time of pur- 
chase, by paying all the fees appertaining thereto, he was allowed two 
years to complete the payment by paying lawful interest, and when the 
last payment was made a completed title was given. 

" By the act of April 8, 17S5, the lands were sold by lottery, in por- 
tions not to exceed one thousand acres to each applicant. Tickets, com- 
mencing with number one, were put in a wheel, and the warrants, which 
were called ' Lottery Warrants,' issued on the said applications, were sev- 
erally numbered according to the decision of the said lottery, and bore 
date from the day on which the drawing was finished. 

"Section seven of this act allowed persons holding these warrants to 
locate them upon any piece or portion of unappropriated lands. The 
land upon each warrant to be embraced in one tract, if possible. 

" On the 3d of April, 1792, the Legislature passed an act for the sale 
of these lands, which, in some respects, differed from the laws of 17S4 
and 1785. It offers land only to such persons as shall settle on them, 
and designates the kind and duration of settlement. 

" By section two of this act all lands lying north and west of the 
Ohio and Allegheny Rivers and Conewango Creek, except such portions 

85 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

as had been or should be appropriated to public or charitable uses, were 
offered to such as would 'cultivate, improve, and settle upon them, or 
cause it to be done, for the price of seven pounds ten shillings for every 
hundred acres, with an allowance of six per centum for roads and high- 
ways, to be located, surveyed, and secured to such purchasers, in the 
manner hereinafter mentioned.' 

'•Section three provided for the surveying and granting of warrants 
by the surveyor-general for any quantity of land within the said limits, 
to not exceed four hundred acres, to any person who settled upon and 
improved said land. 

"The act provided for the surveying and division of these lands. 
The warrants were, if possible, to contain all in one entire tract, and 
the form of the tract was to be as near, as circumstances would admit, 
to an oblong, whose length should not be greater than twice the breadth 
thereof. No warrants were to be issued in pursuance of this act until the 
purchase-money should have been paid to the receiver- general of the 
land office. 

"The surveyor-general was obliged to make clear and fair entries of 
all warrants in a book to be provided for the purpose, and any applicant 
should be furnished with a certified copy of any warrant upon the pay- 
ment of one-quarter of a dollar. 

" In this law the rights of the citizen were so well fenced about and 
so equitably defined that risk and hazard came only at his own. But 
controversies having arisen concerning this law between the judges of 
the State courts and those of the United States, which the Legislature, 
for a long time, tried in vain to settle, impeded for a time the settlement 
of the district. These controversies were not settled until 1805, by a deci- 
sion of Chief Justice Marshall, of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

" At the close of the Revolutionary War several wealthy Hollanders, — 
Wilhelm Willink, Jan Linklaen, and others, — to whom the United States 
was indebted for money loaned in carrying on the war, preferring to in- 
vest the money in this country, purchased of Robert Morris, the great 
financier of the country at that time, an immense tract of land in the 
State of New York, and at the same time took up by warrant (under the 
law above cited) large tracts in the State of Pennsylvania, east of the 
Allegheny River. Judge Yeates, on one occasion, said, 'The Holland 
Land Company has paid to thg State the consideration money of eleven 
hundred and sixty-two warrants and the surveying fees on one thousand 
and forty eight tracts of land (generally four hundred acres each), besides 
making very considerable expenditures by their exertions, honorable to 
themselves and useful to the community, in order to effect settlements. 
Computing the sums advanced, the lost tracts, by prior improvements 
and interferences, and the quantity of one hundred acres granted to each 
individual for making an actual settlement on their lands, it is said that, 

86 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

averaging the whole, between two hundred and thirty and two hundred 
and forty dollars have been expended by the company on each tract.' 

"An act was passed by the Legislature, March 31, 1823, authorizing 
Wilhelm Willink, and others of Holland to ' sell and convey any lands 
belonging to them in the Commonwealth.' 

" Large tracts of lands in Jefferson County were owned by the Hol- 
land Company, and Charles C. Gaskill, of Punxsutawney, was the agent 
of the company for their sale. He was appointed by John J. Vander- 
camp, the general agent. He finally sold out to Alexander Caldwell, and 
Lee, and Gilpin. Mr. Gaskill conveyed much of these lands to actual 
settlers in this county. Mr. Gaskill was very lenient to settlers. A day 
was generally set for those parties who had payments to make to meet the 
owners or their agents, from whom they had purchased lands, at a certain 
place ; but money was scarce, and it was hard for the early settlers to 
meet their obligations, small as was the price paid in those days. In 
order to stir his delinquent debtors up to a sense of their indebtedness 
Mr. Gaskill inserted the following notice in a paper published at Kit- 
tanning : 

" ' Notice. — Having been very indulgent towards those persons in- 
debted for "Holland land" in Indiana, Jefferson, and Armstrong 
Counties for some time past, I am now under the necessity of informing 
them that it will be necessary for them to exert themselves and make as 
considerable payments, and as soon as possible, on their respective 
bonds, etc. 

" ' Charles C. Gaskill. 

"' Punxsutawney, November 20, 1S19.' " 

— Kcrte Scotf s History of Jefferson County. 

" Legally, there never was any such thing as the Holland Land Com- 
pany, or the Holland Company, as they were usually called. 

" The company, consisting of Wilhelm Willink and eleven associates, 
merchants and capitalists of the city of Amsterdam, placed funds in the 
hands of friends who were citizens of America to purchase several tracts 
of land in the United States, which, being aliens, the Hollanders could 
not hold in their names at that time ; and in pursuance of the trust 
created, there were purchased, both in New York and Pennsylvania, 
immense tracts of land, all managed by the same general agent at 
Philadelphia. 

"The names of the several persons interested in these purchases, and 
who composed the Holland Land Company, so called, were as follows : 
Wilhelm Willink, Nicholas Van Staphorst, Pieter ^^an Eeghen, Hendrick 
Vollenhoven, and Ruter Jan Schimmelpenninck. Two years later the 
five proprietors transferred a tract of about one million acres, so that the 

87 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

title vested in the original five, and also in Wilhelm Willink, Jr., Jan 
Willink, Jr., Jan Gabriel Van Staphorst, Roelif Van Staphorst, Jr., 
Cornelius Vollenhoven, and Hendrick Seye." 

Charles C. Oaskill came to Punxsutawney about 1820 from Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania. He resided there until 1849, during which time he 
visited regularly the courts of this and adjoining counties, making sales 
and receiving payments for land. In this year he disposed of all the 
Holland land to Reynolds, Smith, Gilpin & Co., when he returned to 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gaskill was a kind, courteous Quaker 
gentleman. He died at Cooper's Point, New Jersey, in 1S72. 



CHAPTER VL 



PIONEER ANIMALS BEAVER, BUFFALO, ELK, PANTHERS, WOLVES, WILD- 
CATS, BEARS, AND OTHER ANIMALS PENS AND TRAPS — BIRDS WILD 

BEES. 

The mountainous character of this county and the dense forests that 
covered almost its whole area made the region a favorite haunt of wild 
beasts. "Many of them have disappeared, and it is difficult to believe 
that animals now extinct on the continent at large were once numerous 
within the boundaries of this county. ' ' 

The beaver, the buffalo, the elk, and the deer were probably the most 
numerous of the animals. "Beaver will not live near man, and at an 




early period after the settlement of this State these animals withdrew into 
the secluded regions and ultimately entirely disappeared." The last of 
them known in this State made their homes in the great " Flag Swamp," 
or Beaver Meadow, of what was then Jefferson County. This swamp was 

88 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in Jenks township, and is now situated in Jenks township, Forest County. 

The beavers were still in this swamp in the thirties. Late in the thirties 

a trapper named George W. Pelton would occasionally bring a " beaver 

pelt" from this swamp on Salmon Creek to Brookville and "barter" it 

for merchandise. Centuries ago herds of wild buffaloes fed in our valleys 

and on our hills. Yes, more, the " buffalo, or American bison, roamed 

in great droves over the meadows and uplands from the Susquehanna to 

Lake Erie." 

HOW THE BEAVER BUILT HIS DAM. 

If the place chosen was stagnant water or a swamp, he at once com- 
menced building on the bank with low entrances from the water, but if 
the stream was a running one, a large company of beavers would co-op- 
erate in order to keep the water at its level. Then they would go up the 
stream, gnaw down trees from two feet in diameter down, trim them, float 
them down to the "site," lay them crosswise, and fill in with mud and 
stone, which they carried between their forepaws and chin. When the 
water was high enough in a dam to prevent freezing to the bottom of it 
in winter, they separated into families and built their houses against the 
bank or dam. The entrance to the house was beneath the water, and 
the roof of the house was well covered with mud to protect against 
wolves. Beavers laid up food for winter by sinking bark and logs in the 
dam near their house, and in summer fed on grass, roots, etc. Every 
stream in the county, big or little, had beaver meadows, but they were 
mostly located on the smaller streams. 

The American elk was widely distributed in this great forest in 1794. 
The habitat of this noble game was the forest extending across the north- 
ern part of the State. These animals were quite numerous in Jefferson 
County in the thirties. 

In 1834, Mike, William, and John Long and Andrew Vasbinder cap- 
tured a full-grown, live elk. Their dogs chased the animal onto a 
high rock, and while there the hunters lassoed it. The elk only lived 
three weeks in captivity. The last elk in the State was killed in our 
forests. A noted hunter thus describes a battle between wolves and a 
drove of elk: "I heard a rush of feet from the opposite direction, and 
the next moment a band of elks swept into sight. Magnificent fellows 
they were, eight males and three does, with a couple of calves. They 
had evidently been stampeded by something, and swept past me without 
seeing me, but stopped short on catching sight of the wolves. The does 
turned back and started to gallop away in the direction from which they 
came, but one of the bucks gave a cry, and they stopped short and hud- 
dled together with the fawns between them, while the bucks surrounded 
them. Each buck lowered his horns and awaited the attack. The 
wolves, seeing the cordon of bristling bone, paused, disconcerted for a 
moment ; then the foremost, a gaunt old wolf, gave a howl and threw 
7 89 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

himself upon the lowered antlers. He was flung fully ten feet with a 
broken back, but his fate did not deter the others. They threw them- 
selves upon the elks only to be pierced by the prongs. It was not until 
fully twenty had in this way been maimed and killed that they seemed 
to realize the hopelessness of the thing." 

The largest carnivorous beast was the panther. After the advent of 
white men into this wilderness panthers were not common. In the early 
days, however, there were enough of them in the forests to keep the set- 
tler or the hunter ever on his guard. They haunted the wildest glens and 
made their presence known by occasional raids on the flocks and herds. 
It is probable that here in our northwestern counties there are still a few 
of these savage beasts. 

The puma, popularly called by our pioneers panther, was and is a 
large animal with a cat head. The average length of a panther from 
nose to tip of tail is about six to twelve feet, the tail being over two feet 
long, and the tip of which is black. The color of the puma is tawny, dun, 




;=3at;^ 






Panther. 



or reddish along the back and side, and sometimes grayish-white under- 
neath or over the abdomen and chest, with a little black patch behind 
each ear. The panther is a powerful animal, as well as dangerous, but 
when captured as a cub can be easily domesticated. These animals are 
occasionally to be found in this wilderness. The pioneers shot them 
and captured many in panther- and bear-traps. The pelts sold for from 
one to two dollars. 

The Longs, Vasbinders, and other noted hunters in our county killed 
many a panther. A law was enacted in 1806 giving a bounty of eight 
dollars for the "head" of each grown wolf or panther killed, and the 
"pelts" bringing a good price for fur, stimulated these hunters greatly to 
do their best in trapping, hunting, and watching the dens of these dan- 

90 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

gerous animals. The bounty on the head of a wolf pup was three dollars. 
The bounty on the head of a panther whelp was four dollars. The 
county commissioners would cut the ears off these heads and give an 
order on the county treasurer for the bounty money. A panther's pelt 
sold for about four dollars. On one occasion a son of Bill Long, Jack- 
son by name, boldly entered a panther's den and shot the animal by the 
light of his glowing eyes. Jackson Tong's history would fill this volume. 
In 1833, Jacob and Peter Vasbinder found a panther's den on Boone's 
Mountain. They killed one, the dogs killed two, and these hunters 
caught a cub, which they kept a year and then sold it to a showman. In 
1S19 the Legislature enacted a law giving twelve dollars for a full-grown 
panther's head and five dollars for the head of a cub. 

"One hundred years ago wolves were common in Northern and 
Western Pennsylvania. In the middle of the last century large packs of 



Wolf. 

them roamed over a great portion of the State. To the farmer they were 
an unmitigated nuisance, preying on his sheep, and even waylaying be- 
lated travellers in the forest. After the State was pretty well settled 
these beasts disappeared very suddenly. Many people have wondered as 
to the cause of their quick extinction. Rev. Joseph Doddridge in his 
' Notes' ascribes it to hydrophobia, and he relates several instances where 
settlers who were bitten by wolves perished miserably from that terrible 
disease." 

I have listened in my bed to the dismal howl of the wolf, and for the 
benefit of those who never heard a wolf's musical soiree I will state here 
that one wolf leads off in a long tenor, and then the whole pack joins in 
the chorus. 

Wolves were so numerous that, in the memory of persons still living 
in Brookville, it was unsafe or dangerous to permit a girl of ten or twelve 
years to go a mile in the country unaccompanied. In those days the 
Longs have shot as many as five and six without moving in their tracks, 

91 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and with a single-barrelled, muzzle-loading rifle, too. The sure aim 
and steady and courageous hearts of noted hunters made it barely possi- 
ble for the early settlers to live in these woods, and even then they had to 
exercise "eternal vigilance." In 1835, Bill Long, John and Jack Kahle 
captured eight wolves in a "den" near the present town of Sigel. Wolf- 
pelts sold for three dollars. Wild-cats were numerous ; occasionally a cat 
is killed in the county yet, even within the borough limits. 

One of the modes of Mike Long and other pioneer hunters on the 
Clarion River was to ride a horse with a cow-bell on through the woods 
over the deer-paths. The deer were used to cow-bells and would allow 
the horse to come in full view. When the deer were looking at the horse, 
the hunter usually shot one or two. 







Buffalo. 

Every pioneer had one or more cow-bells ; they were made of copper 
and iron. They were not cast, but were cut, hammered, and riveted 
into shape, and were of different sizes. 

The black bear was always common in Pennsylvania, and especially 
was this so in our wild portion of the State. The early settlers in our 
county killed every year in the aggregate hundreds of these bears. Bear- 
skins were worth from three to five dollars a-piece. Reuben Hickox, of 
Perry township, as late as 1822, killed over fifty bears in three months. 
Captain Hunt, a Muncy Indian, living in what is now Brookville, killed 
sixty-eight in one winter. In 1831, Mrs. McGhee, living in what is now 

92 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

Washington township, heard her pigs squealing, and exclaimed, "The 
bears are at the hogs 1" A hired man, Phillip McCafferty, and herself 
each picked up an axe and drove the bears away. One pig had been 
killed. Every fall and winter bears are still killed in our forests. 

Peter Vasbinder when a boy shot a big bear through the window of 
his father's house, and this, too, by moonlight. This bear had a scap of 
bees in his arms, and was walking away with them. The flesh of the 
bear was prized by the pioneer. He was fond of bear meat. Bears 
weighing four or five hundred pounds rendered a large amount of oil, 
which the pioneer housewife used in cooking. 

Trapping and pens were resorted to by the pioneer hunters to catch 
the panther, the bear, the wolf, and other game. 

The bear-pen was built in a triangular shape of heavy logs. It was 
in shape and build to work just like a wooden box rabbit-trap. The 
bear steel-trap weighed about twenty-five pounds. It had double springs 
and spikes sharpened in the jaws. A chain was also attached. This 
was used as a panther-trap, too. " The bear was always hard to trap. 
The cautious brute would never put his paw into visible danger, even 
when allured by the most tempting bait. If the animal was caught, it 
had to be accomplished by means of the most cunning stratagem. One 
successful method of catching this cautious beast was to conceal a strong 
trap in the ground covered with leaves or earth, and suspend a quarter of 
a sheep or deer from a tree above the hidden steel. The bait being just 
beyond the reach of the bear, would cause the animal to stand on his 
hind feet and try to get the meat. While thus rampant, the unsuspecting 
brute would sometimes step into the trap and throw the spring. The 
trap was not fastened to a stake or tree, but attached to a long chain, 
furnished with two or three grab-hooks, which would catch to brush and 
logs, and thus prevent the game from getting away." 

An old settler informs me that in the fall of the year bears became 
very fat from the daily feasts they had on beechnuts and chestnuts, and 
the occasional raids they made on the old straw beehives and ripe corn- 
fields. In pioneer times the bear committed considerable destruction to 
the corn. He would seat himself on his haunches in a corner of the field 
next the woods, and then, collecting a sheaf of the cornstalks at a time, 
would there and then enjoy a sumptuous repast. 

Wolves usually hunt in the night, so they, too, were trapped and 
penned. The wolf-pen was built of small round logs about eight or ten 
feet high and narrowed at the top. Into this pen the hunter threw his 
bait, and the wolf could easily jump in, but he was unable to jump out. 
The wolf-trap was on the principle of the rat-trap, only larger, the jaws 
being a foot or two long. 

Trappers rated the fox the hardest animal to trap, the wolf next, and 
the otter third. To catch a fox they often made a bed of chaff and got 

93 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUxNTY, PENNA. 

him to lie in it or fool around it, the trap being set under the chaff. Or 
a trap was set at a place where several foxes seemed to stop for a cer- 
tain purpose. Or a fox could be caught sometimes by putting a bait a 




Fox. 



little way out in the water, and then putting a pad of moss between the 
bait and the shore, with the trap hid under the moss. The fox, not 
liking to wet his feet, would step on the moss and be caught. 



THE AMERICAN ELK— DEER AND DEER COMBATS— HUNTERS, PRO- 
FESSIONAL AND NON-PROFESSIONAL— STALKING AND BELLING 
DEER— OTHER ANIMALS, ETC. 

The American elk is the largest of all the deer kind. Bill Long and 
other noted hunters killed elk in these woods seven feet high. The early 
hunters found their range to be from Elk Licks on Spring Creek, that 
empties into the Clarion River at what is now called " Hallton," up 
to and around Beech Bottom. In winter these heavy footed-animals 
always "yarded" themselves on the " Beech Bottom" for protection from 
their enemies, — the light footed wolves. The elk's trot was heavy, 
clumsy, and swinging, and would break through an ordinary crust on the 
snow, but in the summer-time he would throw his great antlers back on 
his shoulders and trot through the thickets at a Nancy Hanks gait, even 
over fallen timber five feet high. One of his reasons for locating on the 
Clarion River was that he was personally a great bather and enjoyed 
spending his summers on the banks and the sultry days in bathing in that 
river. Bill Long presented a pair of enormous elk-horns, in 1838, to 
John Smith, of Rrookville, who used them as a sign for the Jefferson Inn. 

" The common Virginia white-tailed deer, once exceedingly numerous 

94 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 



in our county, is still to be found in limited numbers. This deer when 
loping or running elevates its tail, showing the long white hair of the 
lower surface. If the animal is struck by a bullet the tail is almost in- 
variably tucked close to the hams, concealing the white. 







\ K*''^ 



Elk. 



" The American deer, common deer, or just deer, is peculiar to Penn- 
sylvania. It differs from the three well-known European species, — the red 
deer, the fallow deer, and the pretty little roe. Of these three, the red 
deer is the only one which can stand comparison with the American. 

" The bucks have antlers peculiar in many cases, double sharp, erect 
spikes or tines. The doe lacks these antlers. The antlers on the bucks 
are shed and removed annually. Soon after the old antlers fall, swellings, 
like tumors covered with plush, appear ; these increase in size and assume 
the shape of the antlers with astonishing rapidity, until the new antlers 
have attained their full size, when they present the appearance of an 
ordinary pair of antlers covered with fine velvet. The covering, or 
' velvet,' is filled with blood-vessels, which supply material for the new 
growth. The furrows in the complete antler show the course of the cir- 
culation during its formation, and no sooner is the building process com- 
pleted than the ' velvet' begins to wither and dry up. Now the buck 
realizes that he is fully armed and equipped for the fierce joustings which 
must decide the possession of the does of his favorite range, and he busies 
himself in testing his new weapons and in putting a proper polish upon 

95 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

every inch of them. He bangs and rattles his horn daggers against con- 
venient trees and thrusts and swings them into dense, strong shrubs, 
and if observed during this honing-up process he frequently seems a dis- 
reputable-looking beast, with long streamers of bloodstained 'velvet' 
hanging to what will shortly be finely polished antlers with points as 
sharp as knives. When the last rub has been given and every beam 
and tine is furbished thoroughly, our bravo goes a-wooing with the best 
of them. He trails the coy does through lone covers and along favorite 
runways unceasingly ; he is fiery and impetuous and full of fight, and 
asks no fairer chance than to meet a rival as big and short-tempered as 
himself. He meets one before long, for every grown buck is on the war- 
path, and when the pair fall foul of each other there is frequently a long 
and desperate combat, in which one gladiator must be thoroughly whipped 
or killed. All deer fight savagely, and occasionally two battling rivals 
find a miserable doom by managing to get their antlers securely inter- 
locked, when both must perish. Two dead bucks thus locked head to 
head have been found lying as they fell in an open glade, where the 
scarred surface of the ground and the crushed and riven shrubs about 
told an eloquent tale of a wild tourney long sustained, and of miserable 
failing efforts of the v.'earied conqueror to free himself of his dead foe." 
— Outing. The Vasbinders, Longs, and all the early hunters found just 
such skulls in these woods. 

Artificial deer-licks were numerous, and made in this way : A hunter 
would take a coffee-sack and put in it about half a bushel of common 
salt, and then suspend the sack high on the branch of a tree. When the 
rain descended the salt water would drip from the sack to the ground, 
making the earth saline and damp, and to this spot the deer would come, 
paw and lick the earth. The hunter usually made his blind in this way : 
A piece of board had two augur-holes bored in each end, and with ropes 
through these holes was fastened to a limb on a tree. On this board 
the hunter seated himself to await his game. Deer usually visit licks 
from about 2 a.m. until daylight. As a rule, deer feed in the morning 
and evening and ramble around all night seeking a thicket for rest and 
seclusion in the daytime. 

"For ways that were dark and for tricks that were vain" the old 
pioneer was always in it. When real hungry for a venison steak he would 
often use a tame deer as a decoy, in this way : Fawns were captured when 
small, tamed, reared, and permitted to run at large with the cattle. A 
life insurance was " written" on this tame deer by means of a bell or a 
piece of red flannel fastened around the neck. Tame deer could be 
trained to follow masters, and when taken to the woods usually fed around 
and attracted to their society wild deer, which could then be shot by the 
secreted hunter. At the discharge of a gun the tame deer invariably ran 
up to her master. Some of these does were kept for five or six years. 

96 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Deer generally have two fawns at a time, in May, and sometimes three. 
The horns of a deer drop off about New-Year's. 

Love of home is highly developed in the deer. You cannot chase him 
away from it. He will circle round and round, and every evening come 
to where he was born. He lives in about eight or ten miles square of his 
birthplace. In the wilds of swamps and mountains and laurel-brakes he 
has his "roads," beaten paths, and "crossings," like the civilized and 
cross roads of man. AVhen hounded by dogs he invariably strikes for a 
creek or river, and it is his practice to take one of these "travelled 
paths," which he never leaves nor forgets, no matter how circuitous the 
path may be. Certain crossings on these paths where the deer will pass 
are called in sporting parlance "stands." These "stands" never change, 
unless through the clearing of timber or by settlement the old landmarks 
are destroyed. 

" The deer loves for a habitation to wander over hills, through thick 
swamps or open woods, and all around is silence save what noise is made 
by the chirping birds and wild creatures like himself. He loves to feed 
a little on the lowlands and then browse on the high ground. It takes 
him a long time to make a meal, and no matter how much of good food 
there may be in any particular place, he will not remain there to thor- 
oughly satisfy his appetite. He must roam about and eat over a great 
deal of territory. When he has browsed and fed till he is content, he 
loves to pose behind a clump of bushes and watch and listen. At such 
times he stands with head up as stanch as a setter on point, and if one 
watches him closely not a movement of his muscles will be detected. He 
sweeps the country before him with his keen eyes, and his sharp ears will 
be disturbed by the breaking of a twig anywhere within gunshot. 

" When the day is still the deer is confident he can outwit the enemy 
who tries to creep up on him with shot-gun or rifle. But when the wind 
blows, he fears to trust himself in those places where he may easily be 
approached by man, so he hides in the thickets and remains very quiet 
until night. To kill a deer on a still day, when he is not difficult to find, 
the hunter must match the deer in cunning and must possess a marked 
degree of patience. The deer, conscious of his own craftiness, wanders 
slowly through the woods ; but he does not go far before he stops, and 
like a statue he stands, and can only be made out by the hunter with a 
knowledge of his ways and a trained eye. 

"The deer listens for a footfall. Should the hunter be anywhere 
within the range of his ear and step on a twig, the deer is off with a 
bound. He does not stop until he has reached what he regards as a safe 
locality in which to look and listen again. A man moving cautiously 
behind a clump of bushes anywhere within the sweep of his vision will 
start him off on the run, for he is seldom willing to take even a small 
chance against man. Should the coast be clear, the deer will break his 

97 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENxNA. 

pose, browse and wander about again, and finally make his bed under the 
top of a fallen tree or in some little thicket. 

" To capture the deer by the still-hunting method, the hunter must 
know his ways and outwit him at his own game. First of all, the still- 
hunter wears soft shoes, and when he puts his foot on the ground he is 
careful not to set it on a twig which will snap and frighten any deer that 
may be in the vicinity. The still-hunter proceeds at once to put into 
practice the very system which the deer has taught him. He strikes a 
pose. He listens and looks. A deer standing like a statue two hundred 
yards away is not likely to be detected by an inexperienced hunter, but 
the expert is not deceived. He has learned to look closely into the de- 
tail of the picture before him, and he will note the difference between a 
set of antlers and a bush. 

" The brown sides of a deer are very indistinct when they have for a 
background a clump of brown bushes. But the expert still-hunter sits 
quietly on a log and peers into the distance steadily, examining all de- 
tails before him. Occasionally his fancy will help him to make a deer's 
haunch out of a hump on a tree, or he will fancy he sees an antler mixed 
with the small branches of a bush, but his trained eye finally removes all 
doubt. But he is in no hurry. He is like the deer, patient, keen of 
sight, and quick of hearing. He knows that if there are any deer on 
their feet in his vicinity he will get his eyes on them if he takes the time, 
or if he waits long enough he is likely to see them on the move. At all 
events he must see the deer first. Then he must get near enough to him 
to bring him down with his rifle." — Outing. 

Deer will not run in a straight line. They keep their road, and it is 
this habit they have of crossing hills, paths, woods, and streams, almost 
invariably within a itw yards of the same spot, that causes their destruc- 
tion by the hounding and belling methods of farmers, lumbermen, and 
other non-professionals. Deer-licks were numerous all over this county. 
A "deer-lick" is a place where salt exists near the surface of the earth. 
The deer find these spots and work them during the night, generally in 
the early morning. One of the methods of our early settlers was to sit 
all night on or near a tree, " within easy range of a spring or a ' salt-lick,' 
and potting the unsuspecting deer which may happen to come to the lick 
in search of salt or water. This requires no more skill than an ability to 
tell from which quarter the breeze is blowing and to post one's self ac- 
cordingly, and the power to hit a deer when the gun is fired from a dead 
rest." 

" Belling deer" was somewhat common. I have tried my hand at it. 
The mode was this : Three men were located at proper distances apart 
along a trail or runway near a crossing. The poorest marksman was 
placed so as to have the first shot, and the two good ones held in reserve 
for any accidental attack of " buck fever" to the persons on the first and 

98 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

second stands. An experienced woodsman was then sent into a laurel 
thicket, carrying with him a cow-bell ; and when this woodsman found 
and started a deer, he followed it, ringing the bell. The sound of this 
bell was notice to those on the "stand" of the approach of a deer. When 
the animal came on the jump within shooting distance of the first stand, 
the hunter there posted would bleat like a sheep ; the deer would then 
come to a stand-still, when the hunter could take good aim at it ; the 
others had to shoot at the animal running. The buck or doe rarely 
escaped this gauntlet. 

" The deer was always a coveted prize among hunters. No finer dish 
than venison ever graced the table of king or peasant. No more beauti- 
ful trophy has ever adorned the halls of the royal sportsman or the humble 
cabin of the lowly hunter on the wild frontier than the antlers of the fallen 
buck. The sight of this noble animal in his native state thrills with ad- 
miration alike the heart of the proudest aristocrat and the rudest back- 
woodsman. In the days when guns were rare and ammunition very costly, 
hunters set stakes for deer, where the animal had been in the habit of 
jumping into or out of fields. A piece of hard timber, two or three 
inches thick and about four feet long, was sharpened into a spear shape, 
and then driven firmly into the ground at the place where the deer were 
accustomed to leap over the log fence. The stake was slanted towards 
the fence, so as to strike the animal in the breast as it leaped into or out 
of the fields. Several of these deadly wooden spears were often set at the 
same crossing, so as to increase the peril of the game. If the deer were 
seen in the field, a scare would cause them to jump over the fence with 
less caution, and thus often a buck would impale himself on one of the 
fatal stakes, when but for the sight of the hunter the animal might have 
escaped unhurt. Thousands of deer were killed or crippled in this way 
generations ago." — Outing. 

A deer-skin sold in those days for seventy-five to ninety cents. Of 
the original wild animals still remaining in our county, there are the fox, 
raccoon, porcupine, musk-rat, martin, otter, mink, skunk, opossum, 
woodchuck, rabbit, squirrel, mole, and mouse. Fifty years ago the 
woods were full of porcupines. On the defensive is the only way he 
ever fights. When the enemy approaches he rolls up into a little wad, 
sharp quills out, and he is not worried about how many are in the be- 
sieging party. One prick of his quills will satisfy any assailant. When 
he sings his blood-curdling song, it is interpreted as a sign of rain. 

The wholesale price of furs in 1804 were: Otter, one dollar and a 
half to four dollars; bear, one to three dollars and a half; beaver, one 
to two dollars and a half; martin, fifty cents to one dollar and a half; 
red fox, one dollar to one dollar and ten cents ; mink, twenty to forty 
cents ; muskrat, twenty-five to thirty cents ; raccoon, twenty to fifty 
cents ; deer-pelts, seventy-five cents to one dollar. 

99 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer hunter carried his furs and pelts to the Pittsburg market 
in canoes, where he sold them to what were called Indian traders from 
the East. In later years traders visited the cabins of our hunters in the 
county, and bartered for and bought the furs and pelts from the hunters 
or from our merchants. 




Porcupine. 



Old William Vasbinder, a noted hunter and trapper in this wilder- 
ness, and pioneer in what is now Warsaw township, was quite successful 
in trapping wolves one season on Hunt's Run, about the year 1819 or 
1820; but for some unknown reason his success suddenly stopped, and 
he could not catch a single wolf. He then suspected the Indians of 
robbing his traps. So one morning bright and early he visited his traps 
and found no wolf, but did find an Indian track. He followed the 
Indian trail and lost it. On looking around he heard a voice from 
above, and looking up he saw an Indian sitting in the fork of a tree, and 
the Indian said, " Now, you old rascal, you go home, Old Bill, or Indian 
shoot." With the Indian's flint-lock pointed at him, Vasbinder imme- 
diately became quite hungry and started home for an early breakfast. 

Bill Long often sold to pedlers fifty deer-pelts at a single sale. He 
had hunting shanties in all sections and quarters of this wilderness. 

In 1840 the late John Du Bois, founder of Du Bois City, desired to 
locate some lands near Boone's Mountain. So he took Bill Long with 
him, and the two took up a residence in a shanty of Long's near the 
head-waters of Rattlesnake Run, in what is now Snyder township. After 
four or five days' rusticating, the provisions gave out, and Du Bois got 
hungry. Long told him there was nothing to eat here and for him to 
leave for Bundy's. On his way from the shanty to Bundy's Mr. Du Bois 
killed five deer. 

George Smith, a Washington township early hunter, who is still 
living in the wilds of Elk County, has killed in this wilderness fourteen 
panthers, five hundred bears, thirty elks, three thousand deer, five hun- 
dred catamounts, five hundred wolves, and six hundred wild-cats. He 

100 




GOLDEN EAGLE 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



has killed seven deer in a day and as many as iive bears in a day. All 
these animals were killed in what was originally Jefferson County. Mr. 
Smith has followed hunting as a profession for sixty years. 



NATURAL LIFE OF SOME OF OUR 
Years. 

Elk 50 

Beaver 5° 

Panther 25 

Catamount 25 

Buffalo 20 

Cow 20 

Horse 20 

Bear 20 

Deer 20 



WILD AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



Hog . . 
Wolf. . 
Cat . . 
Fox . . 
Dog . . 
Sheep . 
Squirrel 
Rabbit . 



Years. 
20 

• 15 
■ 15 

• 15 
10 

10 

7 
7 




t/iiM' 






BIRDS. 

" If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or 
on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting 
upon the young, or upon 
the eggs, thou shalt not 
take the dam with the 
young : but thou shalt in 
anywise let the dam go, 
and take the young to 
thee ; that it may be well 
with thee, and that thou 
mayest prolong thy days. ' ' 
— Dent. xxii. 6, 7. 

With the exception of 
the wild turkey and raven, 
which are now about ex- 
tinct, we have almost the 
same variety of birds here 
that lived and sung in this 
wilderness when the Bar- 
netts settled on Mill Creek. 
Some of these original 
birds are quite scarce. We 
have one new bird, — viz., 
the English sparrow. 

Before enumerating our birds it might be proper to give a few sketches 
of some of the principal ones. 

THE RAVEN. 

A very handsome bird, numerous here in pioneer time, now extinct. 
He belonged to the crow family. He had a wonderful intellect. He 




-5jgJi^, 



Wild turkey. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

could learn to talk correctly, and was a very apt scholar. He lived to 
an extreme old age, probably one hundred years. He was blue-black, 
like the common crow. He made his home in the solitude of the forest, 
preferring the wildest and most hilly sections. In such regions, owing 
to his intellect and strength, his supremacy was never questioned, unless 
by the eagle. In the fall of the year he would feast on the saddles of 
venison the hunters would hang on a tree, and the Longs adopted this 
method to save their meat : Take a small piece of muslin, wet it, and 
rub it all over with gunpowder ; sharpen a stick and pin this cloth to 
the venison. The raven and crow would smell this powder and keep 
away from the venison. 

THE "bald" eagle OUR NATIONAL EMBLEM. 

The name " Bald" which is given to this species is not applied be- 
cause the head is bare, but because the feathers of the neck and head of 
adults are pure white. In Jefferson County, as well as throughout the 
United States, we had but two species of eagles, the bald and the golden. 
The " Black," " Gray," and " Washington" eagles are but the young of 
the bald eagle. Three years, it is stated, are required before this species 
assumes the adult plumage. The bald eagle is still found in Pennsyl- 
vania at all seasons of the year. I have seen some that measured eight 
feet from tip to tip of wing. 

" The nest, a bulky affair, built usually on a large tree, mostly near 
the water, is about four or five feet in diameter. It is made up chiefly of 
large sticks, lined inside with grass, leaves, etc. The eggs, commonly two, 
rarely three, are white, and they measure about three by two and a half 
inches. A favorite article of food with this bird is fish, which he obtains 
mainly by strategy and rapine. Occasionally, however, according to dif- 
ferent observers, the bald eagle will do his own fishing. Geese and brant 
form their favorite food, and the address displayed in their capture is very 
remarkable. The poor victim has apparently not the slightest chance for 
escape. The eagle's flight, ordinarily slow and somewhat heavy, becomes, 
in the excitement of pursuit, exceedingly swift and graceful, and the fugi- 
tive is quickly overtaken. When close upon its quarry the eagle sud- 
denly sweeps beneath it, and turning back downward, thrusts its powerful 
talons up into its breast. A brant or duck is carried off bodily to the 
nearest marsh or sand-bar. But a Canada goose is too heavy to be thus 
easily disposed of; the two great birds fall together to the water beneath, 
while the eagle literally tows his prize along the surface until the shore is 
reached. In this way one has been known to drag a large goose for 
nearly half a mile. 

" The bald eagle occasionally devours young pigs, lambs, and fawns. 
Domestic fowls, wild turkeys, hares, etc., are also destroyed by this species. 
I have knowledge of at least two of these birds which have killed poultry 




BALD EAG LE . 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

(tame ducks and turkeys) along the Susquehanna River. Sometimes, like 
the golden eagle, this species will attack raccoons and skunks. I once 
found two or three spines of a porcupine in the body of an immature 
bald eagle. The golden eagle occurs in this State as a winter visitor. 
The only species with which it is sometimes compared is the bald eagle 
in immature dress. The two birds, however, can be distinguished at a 
glance, if you remember that the golden eagle has the tarsus (shin) 
densely feathered to the toes, while, on the other hand, the bald eagle 
has a bare shin. The golden eagle breeds in high mountainous regions 
and the Arctic countries. 

" Golden eagles are rather rare in this region, hence their depreda- 
tions to poultry, game, and live-stock occasion comparatively little loss. 
Domestic fowls, ducks, and turkeys especially, are often devoured ; dif- 
ferent species of water-birds, grouse, and wild turkeys suffer chiefly among 
the game birds. Fawns are sometimes attacked and killed ; occasionally 
it destroys young pigs, and frequently many lambs are carried off by this 
powerful bird. Rabbits are preyed upon to a considerable extent." 

Of our birds, the eagle is the largest, swiftest in flight, and keenest- 
eyed, the humming-bird the smallest, the coot the slowest, and the owl 
the dullest. 

The spring birds, such as the bluebird, the robin, the sparrow, and 
the martin, were early to come and late to leave. 

I reproduce from Olive Thorne Miller's Lectures the following, — viz. : 

"There are matrimonial quarrels also among birds. As a rule, the 
female is queen of the nest, but once I saw a male sparrow assert his 
power. He was awfully angry, and tried to oust his spouse from a hole 
in a maple-tree in which they had made their home. He did drive her 
out at last, and absolutely divorced her, for he was back before long with 
a bride whom, with some trouble and a good many antics, he coaxed to 
accept the nest. 

"The female bird is the queen of the home, and usually selects the 
place for the nest, the male bird sometimes lending a beak in building it, 
but most of the time singing his sweet song to encourage his mate. 

" That the female is queen is shown by a little story related of a spar- 
row. She was hatching her eggs, and was relieved now and then by her 
mate while she went off for exercise and food. One day the male bird 
was late and the female called loudly for him. He came at last, and 
she gave him an unmerciful drubbing, which he took without a murmur. 
Thoroughly ashamed of himself, he sat down meekly on the eggs. 

" The robin is the most familiar of our birds. Running over the lawns, 
with head down, it suddenly grabs a worm, which it shakes as a cat does 
a mouse. Having swallowed it, the robin looks up with infinite pride. 
They are great insect-destroyers, though they insist on having the earliest 
spring peas and the first mulberries, raspberries, and grapes. The robin 

I O.I 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

is the great enemy of the bird observer, giving warning of his approach 
to every bird in the neighboring thickets. They are brave, and will help 
any bird in distress. A sparrow-hawk had seized an English sparrow, 
one of the robin's worst enemies, but the robin attacked the hawk so 
viciously that it released the sparrow. In another instance a cat had cap- 
tured a young robin, but was so fearlessly attacked by an older bird that 
she parted with her tender meal and sought shelter under the barn. 

" The robins make charming but most mischievous pets. I heard 
of a case where a child helped bring up a brood of these birds. When 
they were fledged they would follow her about the yard like a flock of 
chickens. 

" The wood-thrush or wood-robin is of a shy and retiring nature, fre- 
quenting thick woods and tangled undergrowth, and at daybreak and sun- 
down this bird carols forth its thankfulness for a day begun and a day 
ended. The nest is made in some low tree, with little or no mud in its 
composition, and contains from four to six eggs. The veery, or tawny 
thrush, is a wonderful songster, but a most retiring bird. 

"The American cuckoo, unlike her English cousin, builds her own 
nest, and is a most devoted parent. These birds, with white breast, are 
numerous here in the summer, and the male bird's courting is most 
grotesque. After each note he makes a profound bow to the mate, and 
then opens his mouth as wide as possible, as if about to emit a loud cry, 
but only the feeblest of ' coos' can be heard. 

"The blue-jay, though one of our best-known birds, is greatly mis- 
understood. It is said he is always quarrelling and fighting, whereas 
really he is only full of frolic and mischief and is a most affectionate 
bird, and instead of tyrannizing over other birds is most kind to them. 
These birds have shared a room with a dozen others much smaller than 
themselves and were never known to molest them. They will defend 
their young against all comers, and James Russell Lowell tells a story of 
discovering three young birds who were held to their nest by a string, in 
which they had got entangled. He determined to cut them loose. The 
old birds flew at him at first, but on learning what his object was, sat 
quietly within reach of him, watching the operation, and when the birds 
were released noisily thanked him. 

"A story is told of the frolicsomeness of this bird. One was seated 
on a fence-rail, and two kittens, having espied him, essayed to stalk him. 
They got up near him ; then he began playing leap-frog over those two 
kittens until they returned full of offended dignity to the house. The 
bird tried to coax them out to a game several times afterwards, but the 
kittens had had enough of it. 

"The kingbird is said to fight and drive away every bird that comes 
near it, but this is a libel. He attends to his own business almost wholly, 
and though not particularly social, is no more belligerent in the bird 

104 





1^^ Wv ) <^^' 







AMERICAN GOSHAWK 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

world than most birds are when they have nests to protect. He is a 
character, and interesting to watch. 

"The shrike, or butcher-bird, has imputed to him the worst charac- 
ter of any of our birds. He is not only accused of killing birds, but of 
impaling them afterwards on thorns. That he does kill birds is un- 
doubted, but only when other food is scarce, for he much prefers field- 
mice, grasshoppers, and other noxious insects. That he impales his prey 
is certain, and the reason for this is, I think, that he has such small, deli- 
cate feet that they are not strong enough to hold down a mouse or insect 
while he tears it to pieces. 

"Blackbirds are gregarious, forming blackbird cities in the tops of 
trees. He and the fishhawk have a strange friendship for one another, 
often three or four pairs building their nests in the straggling outskirts of 
the hawk's large nest, and they unite in protecting one another. 

"The red-winged blackbirds are the most independent of birds, as 
far as the two sexes are concerned. The dull brown-streaked females 
come up in flocks some time after the males have arrived, and as soon as 
the breeding season is over they separate again, the males keeping to the 
marshes, while the females seek shelter in the uplands, but always near 
water. They nest in marshy places, and insist on plenty of water. 

"The cowbird is undoubtedly the most unpopular of this class of 
birds, simply from the fact that no nest is built, the egg always being 
placed in the nest of some vireo, warbler, or sparrow, and the rearing of 
one of these birds means the loss of at least two song-birds, for they 
always smother the rightful owners. The popular idea that the foster- 
parents are unaware of this strange egg is doubtful. I believe it to be 
another instance of the great good nature of the birds to the young of any 
sort. The cowbirds nearly kill with overwork whatever birds they have 
been foisted on. 

" The bobolink, who later in the year becomes the reed- or rice-bird, 
is a handsome bird in his plumage of black and white and buff". The 
female is a quieter-colored bird. While breeding they are voracious in- 
sect-eaters, but when they get down to the rice marshes it is almost im- 
possible to drive them away. A hawk seems to be the only thing they 
are afraid of. 

"The Baltimore oriole is one of the most beautiful and best-known 
birds. Its long, pendant, woven nest is known to every one, and it is 
wonderful how the bird, with only its beak, can build such a splendid 
structure. They have been known to use Avire in the structure of their 
nests. 

" The meadow-lark, one of the largest of this family, is a wonderful 
singer, sitting on a fence-rail, carolling forth its quivering silvery song. 
All these birds, except the oriole, walk while hunting for food, and do 
not hop as most other birds do. 

s 105 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



"The crow does not belong to the blackbird family, but owing to 
his uniform I will speak about him. Much has been said against him, 
but the truth is that he is a most useful bird in killing mice, snakes, 
lizards, and frogs, and is a splendid scavenger. He has been persecuted 
for so many generations that perhaps he is the most knowing and wary 
of birds. He will always flee from a man with a gun, though paying little 
attention to the ordinary pedestrian. These birds are gregarious in their 
habits, and make their large, untidy nests at the tops of trees. 

" They have regular roosting-places, and, curious to say, it is not first 
come first served. As each flock reaches the sleeping-grove they sit 
around on the ground, and it is only when the last wanderer returns that 
they all rise simultaneously and scramble for nests. Crows as pets are 
intensely funny. 

"In July, when nesting is over, there are no more frolicsome birds 
than the highholes, or woodpeckers. They are like boys out of school, 

and actually seem to play 
games with each other, one 
that looks very much like 
' tag' being a favorite. 

"The young of these 
birds never cease in their 
clamor for food, and even 
when they have left their 
hole-nest they are fed by 
the parent birds. 

"The feeding process 
is a strange one. The old 
one half loses its long bill 
down the throat of the 
youngster, and from its 
crop gives up a sufficient 
supply of half- digested food 
for a full meal. 

' ' The courtship of these 
birds is exquisitely quaint, 
and a correspondent has 
given an account of a 
game, or dance, in which 
they began with a waltz of an odd sort and went through various evolu- 
tions, ending with crossing their beaks, and standing so for a moment 
before they drew back and did the whole thing over. 

" The downy woodpecker is particularly fond of apple-trees, and 
though popularly supposed to be an enemy of the orchard, is in reality 
one of its greatest friends. They tunnel for the worms, and it has been 

1 06 




Woodpeckers. 




PIGEON HAWK 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

conclusively proved that trees drilled with their holes have long outlived 
in usefulness the trees unvisited by these birds. 

"The clown of the family is the red-headed woodpecker, which, as 
well as the others shown, is a Pennsylvanian, and a most original and 
quaint character. He has been studied for many years in Ohio and many 
of his tricks described by Mr. Keyser, of that State. He lays up food 
for the winter, and in places where he has been accustomed to depend 
on the sweet beechnut for provisions he refuses to stay when the nut 
crop fails, but at once betakes himself to a more inviting region. 

"The sapsucker, or yellow-breasted woodpecker, was shown with his 
mate and a young one, and his characteristics defended against the charge 
of sap sucking, which has been made against him. Sufficient evidence 
from several scientific ornithologists was produced to show that the bird 
is insectivorous in a great degree, and the small amount of sap he may 
drink is well paid for by the insects he consumes. 

"The junco, or snowbird, is often found in flocks, except in the 
nesting season. Their favorite nesting-place is in the roots of trees that 
have been blown over. That birds are considerate of one another is 
certain. I know of a case where a family had fed a flock of juncos during 
a long speli of cold weather. They got so tame that they would come 
up to the stoop to be fed ; but it was noticed that one bird always re- 
mained on the fence and the other ones fed it. On examination, it was 
found that the bird had an injured wing, and in case of sudden danger 
would not have been able to leave with the flock in the rush, so it was 
left in a place of safety and fed. 

" The snow-bunting is to be seen in our part of the world only in 
blizzard times, or when there are snow-scurries around." — Miller. 

OF HAWKS. 

The red-shouldered hawk, called by farmers and hunters the hen-hawk, 
nests in trees in April or May. The eggs are two to four, white and 
blotched, with shades of brown. The nest is built of sticks, bark, etc. 

The goshawk was a regular breeder in our woods and mountains. 
He is a fierce and powerful bird. The hawk feeds upon wild turkeys, 
pheasants, ducks, chickens, robins, rabbits, and squirrels. The cooper- 
hawk, known as the long-tailed chicken-hawk, is an audacious poultry 
thief, capturing full-grown chickens. This hawk also feeds upon pigeons, 
pheasants, turkeys, and squirrels. This bird nests about May in thick 
woods; the nest containing four or five eggs. In about twelve weeks the 
young are able to care for themselves. The sharp shinned hawk bears a 
close resemblance to the cooper, but feeds by choice upon young chickens 
and pullets, young turkeys, young rabbits, and squirrels. If a pair of 
these birds should nest near a cabin where chickens were being raised, 
in a very few days they would steal every one. 

107 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 




Wild pigeon. 



When I was a boy large nestings of wild pigeons in what was then 
Jenks, Tionesta, and Ridgway townships occurred every spring. These 

big roosts were occupied 
annually early in April each 
year. Millions of pigeons 
occupied these roosts, and 
they were usually four or 
five miles long and one or 
two miles wide. In this 
territory every tree would 
be occupied, some with 
fifty nests. These pigeons 
swept over Brookville on 
their migration to these 
roosts, and would be for 
days passing, making the 
day dark at times. The 
croakings of the pigeons in these roosts could be heard for miles. 

The coopers and the bloody goshawk, the great-horned and barred 
owls, like other night wanderers, such as the wild bear, panther, wolf, 
wild cat, lynx, fox, the mink, and agile weasel, all haunted these roosts 
and feasted upon these pigeons. The weasel would climb the tree for 
the pigeons' eggs and the young, or to capture the old birds when at 
rest. The fox, lynx, and mink depended on catching the squabs that fell 
from the nests. 

Like the buffaloes of this region, the wild pigeon is doomed. These 
once common birds are only to be seen occasionally. Isolated and scat- 
tered pairs still find a breeding-place in our wilds, but the immense 
breeding colonies that once visited our county will never be seen again. 
The extermination of the passenger pigeon has gone on so rapidly that 
in another decade the birds may become a rarity. The only thing that 
will save the birds from this fate is the fact that they no longer resort to 
the more thickly populated States as breeding- places, but fly far into the 
woods along our northern border. Thirty years ago wild pigeons were 
found in New York State, and in Elk, Forest, Warren, McKean, Pike, 
and Cameron Counties, Pennsylvania, but now they only figure as 
migrants, with a few pair breeding in the beech-woods. 

To give an idea of the immensity of these pigeon-roosts, I quote from 
the Elk Advocate as late as May, 1851 : 

"The American Express Company carried in one day, over the New 
York and Erie Railroad, over seven tons of pigeons to the New York 
market, and all of these were from the west of Corning. This company 
alone have carried over this road from the counties of Chemung, Steuben, 
and Allegheny fifty-six tons of pigeons." 

108 




,',*»»*' 



RED SHOULDERED HAWK. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



The wild pigeon lays usually one or two eggs, and both birds do their 
share of the incubating. The females occupy the nest from 2 p.m. until 
the next morning, and the males from 9 or 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The 
males usually feed twice each day, while the females feed only during 
the forenoon. The old pigeons never feed near the nesting-places, always 
allowing the beechmast, buds, etc., there for use in feeding their young 
when they come forth. The birds go many miles to feed, — often a 
hundred or more. 

Our birds migrate every fall to Tennessee, the Carolinas, and as far 
south as Florida. Want of winter food is and was the cause of that migra- 
tion, for those that remained surely picked up a poor living. Migrating 
birds return year after year to the same locality. In migrating northward 
in the spring, the males usually precede the females several days, but on 
leaving their summer scenes of love and joy for the south, the sexes act 
in unison. 

Of the other pioneer birds, there was the orchard-oriole, pine-gros- 
beak, rose-breasted grosbeak, swallow, barn-swallow, ruff winged swallow, 
bank swallow, black and white warbler, chesnut-sided warbler, barn-owl, 
American long-eared owl, short-eared owl, screech-owl, great-horned owl, 
yellow-billed cuckoo, black-billed cuckoo, kingbird, crested flycatcher, 
phoebe-bird, wood-pewee, least flycatcher, ruffed grouse (pheasant, or 
partridge), quail, also known as the bob- white, marsh-hawk, sparrow- 
hawk, pigeon-hawk, fish- 
hawk, red-tailed hawk, 
American ruff'-legged hawk, 
horned grebe, loon, hooded 
merganser, wood-duck, 
buff-headed duck, red- 
headed duck, American 
bittern, least bittern, blue 
heron, green heron, black - 
crowned night-heron, Vir- 
ginia rail, Carolina rail, 
American coot, American 
woodcock, Wilson's snipe, 
least sandpiper, killdeer 
plover, belted kingfisher, turtle-dove, turkey-buzzard, whippoorwill, 
nighthawk, ruby-throated humming-bird, blue-jay, bobolink, or reed- 
bird, or rice-bird, purple grackle, cowbird (cow-bunting), red-winged 
blackbird, American grosbeak, red-poll, American goldfinch, or yellow- 
bird, towhee-bunting, cardinal- or redbird, indigo bunting, scarlet tana- 
ger, cedar- or cherry-bird, butcher-bird, or great northern scarlet tanager, 
red-eyed vireo, American redstart, cootbird, brown thrush, bluebird, 

109 




Gnni'^e, 01 j^heasTiil. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

house-wren, wood-wren, white-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, golden- 
crowned knight. 




Huinming-biriis. 



NATURAL LIFE OF SOME OF OUR BIRDS 
Years. 



Raven loo 

Eagle loo 

Crow loo 

Goose 50 

Sparrowhawk 40 

Crane 24 

Peacock 24 

Lark 16 



Years. 

Pheasant 15 

Partridge 15 

Blackbird 10 

Common fowl 10 

Robin 10 

Thrush 10 

Wren 5 



WILD BEES— BEE-HUNTING, BEE-TREES, BEE-FOOD, ETC. 

In pioneer times these woods were alive with bee-trees, and even yet 
that condition prevails in the forest part of this region, as the following 
article on bees, from the pen of E. C. Niver, clearly describes : 

" Although the natural range of bee-pasturage in this section is prac- 
tically unlimited, singular to relate, apiculture is not pursued to any great 
extent. With all the apparently favorable conditions, the occupation is 
too uncertain and precarious to hazard much capital or time on it. At 
the best, apiculture is an arduous occupation, and in the most thickly 
populated farming communities it requires constant vigilance to keep 
track of runaway swarms. But in this rugged mountain country, with 
its thousands of acres of hemlock slashings and hard-wood ridges, it is 
virtually impossible to keep an extensive apiary within bounds. The rich 
pasturage of the forests and mountain barrens affords too great a tempta- 
tion, and although the honey-bee has been the purveyor of sweets for the 
ancients as far back as history reaches, she has never yet become thor- 
oughly domesticated. At swarming time the nomadic instinct asserts 
itself. Nature lures and beckons, and the first opportunity is embraced 

no 




BLUE J AY. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to regain her fastness and subsist upon her bounty. Never a season goes 
by but what some swarms escape to the woods. These take up their hab- 
itation in hollow trees or some other favorable retreat, and in time throw 
off other svvarms. Thus it is that our mountains and forests contain an 
untold wealth of sweetness, but little of which is ever utilized by man. 

" Here is the opportunity of the bee-hunter. In the backwoods coun- 
ties of Western Pennsylvania bee-hunting is as popular a sport with some 
as deer-hunting or trout-fishing. It does not have nearly so many devo- 
tees, perhaps, as these latter sports, for the reason that a greater degree 
of woodcraft, skill, and patience is required to become a proficient bee- 
hunter. Any backwoodsman can search out and stand guard at a deer 
runway, watch a lick, or follow a trail ; and his skill with a rifle, in the 
use of which he is familiar from his early boyhood, insures him an equal 
chance in the pursuit of game. It does not require any nice display of 
woodcraft to tramp over the mountains to the head of the trout stream, 
with a tin spice -box full of worms, 
cut an ash sapling, equip it with the 
hook and line, and fish the stream 
down to its mouth. But to search 
out a small insect as it sips the nec- 
tar from the blossoms, trace it to its 
home, and successfully despoil it of 
its hoarded stores, requires a degree 
of skill and patience that compara- 
tively few care to attain. Yet in " "^' ^^^'^>a. 
every community of this section are Straw bee scap. 
some old fellows who do not consider 

life complete without a crockful of strained honey in the cellar when 
winter sets in. Then, as they sit with their legs under the kitchen-table 
while their wives bake smoking-hot buckwheat cakes, the pungent flavor 
of decayed wood which the honey imparts to their palates brings back 
the glory of the chase. Whenever a man takes to bee hunting he is an 
enthusiastic devotee, and with him all other sport is relegated to the 
background. 

" There are many methods employed in hunting the wild honey-bee. 
The first essential is a knowledge of bees and their habits. This can 
only be acquired by experience and intelligent observation. The man 
who can successfully ' line' bees can also successfully ' keep' them in a 
domestic state, but a successful apiarist is not necessarily a good bee- 
hunter. 

" September and October are the best months for securing wild honey, 
as the bees have then in the main completed their stores. At that season 
they can also be most readily lined, for the scarcity of sweets makes them 
more susceptible to artificial bait. But the professional bee-hunter does 

III 




PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

not, as a rule, wait until fall to do all his lining. He wants to know 
what is in prospect, and by the time the honey-bee suspends operations 
for the winter the hunter has perhaps a dozen bee-trees located which he 
has been watching all summer in order to judge as near as possible as to 
the amount of stored honey they contain. If the hunter wants to save 
the bees he cuts the tree in June and hives the inmates in the same man- 
ner as when they swarm in a domestic state. Many swarms are thus ob- 
tained, and the hunter scorns to expend any money for a swarm of bees 
which he can get for the taking. As a matter of course, when the honey 
is taken in the fall the bees, being despoiled of their subsistence, inevi- 
tably perish. 

" ' I'll gather the honey-comb bright as gold, 
And chase the elk to his secret fold.' 

" The first warm days of April, when the snows have melted from the 
south side of the hills, and the spring runs are clear of ice, find the bee- 
hunter on the alert. There is nothing yet for the bees to feed upon, but 
a few of the advance-guard are emerging from their long winter's hiber- 
nations in search of pollen and water, and they instinctively seek the 
water's edge where the warm rays of the sun beat down. Where the 
stream has receded from the bank, leaving a miniature muddy beach, 
there the bees congregate, dabbling in the mud, sipping water and carry- 
ing it away. The first material sought for by the bees is pollen, and the 
earliest pasturage for securing this is the pussy willow and skunk-cabbage, 
which grow in the swamps. After these comes the soft maple, which also 
affords a large supply of pollen. Sugar-maple is among the first wild 
growth which furnishes any honey. Then comes the wild cherry, the 
locust, and the red raspberries and blackberries. Of course, the first blos- 
soms and the cultivated plants play an important part, but the profusion 
of wild flowers which are honey-bearing would probably supply as much 
honey to the acre as the cultivated sections. 

"The wild honeysuckle, which covers thousands of acres of the 
mountain ranges with a scarlet flame in May, is a particular favorite with 
bees, as is also the tulip-tree, which is quite abundant in this section. 
Basswood honey has a national reputation, and before the paper- wood 
cutters despoiled the ridges and forests the basswood-tree furnished an 
almost unlimited feeding-ground. This tree blooms for a period of two 
or three weeks, and a single swarm has been known to collect ten pounds 
of honey in a day when this flower was in blossom. Devil's-club fur- 
nishes another strong feed for bees, as well as the despised sumach. Last, 
but not least, is the golden-rod, which in this latitude lasts from August 
imtil killed by the autumn frosts. While these are the chief wild-honey 
producing trees and plants, they are but a fractional part of the honey 
resources of the country. 

112 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Having discovered the feeding-ground and haunts of the wild 
honey-bee, the hunter proceeds to capture a bee and trace it to its habi- 
tation. This is done by ' Hning,' — that is, following the bee's flight to its 
home. The bee always flies in a direct line to its place of abode, and 
this wonderful instinct gives rise to the expression, ' a bee-line.' 

" To assist in the chase the hunter provides himself with a ' bee- box,' 
which is any small box possessing a lid, with some honey inside for bait. 
Arrived at any favorable feeding-ground, the hunter eagerly scans the 
blossoms until he finds a bee at work. This he scoops into his box and 
closes the lid. If he can capture two or more bees at once, so much the 
better. After buzzing angrily for a few moments in the darkened box 
the bee scents the honey inside and immediately quiets down and begins 
to work. Then the box is set down and the lid opened. When the bee 
gets all the honey she can carry she mounts upward with a rapid spiral 
motion until she gets her bearings, and then she is off like a shot in 
a direct line to her habitation. Presently she is back again, and this time 
when she departs her bearings are located and she goes direct. After 
several trips more bees appear, and when they get to working the bait 
and the line of their flight is noted, the box is closed when the bees are 
inside and moved forward along the direction in which they have been 
coming and going. The hunter carefully marks his trail and opens the 
box again. The bees are apparently unconscious that they have been 
moved, and work as before. This manoeuvre is repeated until the spot 
where the swarm is located is near at hand, and then comes the most try- 
ing part of the quest to discover the exact location of the hive. Some- 
times it is in the hollow of a dead tree away to the top ; sometimes it is 
near the bottom. Again, it may be in a hollow branch of a living tree 
of gigantic proportions, closely hidden in the foliage, or it may be in an 
old stump or log. To search it out requires the exercise of much patience, 
as well as a quick eye and an acute ear. 

"To determine the distance of the improvised hive after a line has been 
established from the bee-box the hunter resorts to ' cross-lining.' This 
is done by moving the box when the bees are at work in it some distance 
to one side. The bees as usual fly direct to their home, the second line 
of flight converging with the first, forming the apex of a triangle, the 
distance between the first and second locations of the box being the base 
and the two lines of flight the sides. Where the lines meet the habita- 
tion is to be found. 

"Different kinds of bait are frequently used in order to induce the 
bees to work the box. In the flowering season a little anise or other pun- 
gent oil is rubbed on the box to attract the bees and keep them from 
being turned aside by the wealth of blossoms along their flight. It is a 
mistake to mix the oil with the bait, as it spoils the honey the bees make 
and poisons the whole swarm. Sometimes in the early spring corn-cobs 

III 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

soaked in stagnant brine proves an attractive bait, while late in the fall 
beeswax burned on a heated stone will bring the belated straggler to the 
bee-box. 

" Cutting a bee-tree is the adventuresome part of the sport. An 
angry swarm is a formidable enemy. Then, too, the treasure for which 
the hunter is in search is about to be revealed, and the possibilities bring 
a thrill of anticipation and excitement. So far as the danger goes the 
experienced hunter is prepared for that, and protects his head and face 
by a bag of mosquito-netting drawn over a broad-brimmed hat. With 
gloves on his hands he is tolerably protected, but sometimes a heavy 
swarm breaks through the netting, and instances are on record where 
bee-hunters have been so severely stung in despoiling wild swarms as to 
endanger their lives. In felling a tree great care must be exercised in 
order that the tree may not break up and destroy the honey. Sometimes 
trees are felled after night, as bees do not swarm about in the darkness, 
and the danger of getting stung is not so great. 

"The amount of honey secured depends upon the age of the swarm. 
Frequently much time and labor have been expended in lining and cut- 
ting a tree which yielded nothing, while again the returns have been 
large. There are instances in this community where a single tree 
yielded over two hundred pounds of good honey. Not long since a 
hunter cut a tree in which a hollow space about eighteen inches in diam- 
eter was filled with fine honey for a length of fifteen feet. Often a 
tree is cut which has been worked so long that part of the honey is spoiled 
with age. Often the comb is broken and the honey mingled with the 
decayed wood of the tree. The bee- hunter, however, carefully gathers 
up the honey, wood and all, in a tin pail, and strains it, and the pungent 
flavor of the wood does not in the least detract from the quality in his 
estimation. 

"Bee-hunting as a sport could be pursued in nearly every section of 
Western Pennsylvania, particularly in the lumbering and tannery districts. 
In these sections thousands of acres are annually stripped of timber, ex- 
tending many miles back from the settled districts. Fire runs through 
these old slashings every year or so, and a dense growth of blackberry 
and raspberry briers spring up. These, with the innumerable varieties of 
wild flowers, afford a rich and vast pasturage for the honey-bee which has 
thrown off the restraints of civilization. Swarm upon swarm is propa- 
gated, the surplus product of which is never utilized. With a little en- 
couragement bee- hunting might become as popular a form of sport with 
the dweller of the town as with the skilled woodsman." 



114 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER V 11. 

RUNWAYS, PATHS, TRAILS, DEER RUNS AND CROSSINGS, INDIAN TRAILS 

THE WHITE man's PATH — DAVID AND JOHN MEADE — MEADE's PACK- 
HORSE TRAIL PIONEER SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTHWEST WHITE 

BOYS CAPTURED AND REARED BY INDIANS — PIONEER EXPLORERS AND 
SETTLERS. 

Previous to the white man's advent here this wilderness had public 
highways, but they were for the wild deer and savage Indians. These 
thoroughfares were called "deer paths" and "Indian trails." These 
paths were usually well beaten and crossed each other as civilized roads 
now do. The first trail discovered and traversed by the white man was 
the Indian Chinklacanioose path, which extended from what is now Clear- 
field town to what is now Kittanning. This Indian trail passed through 
what is now Punxsutawney, and over this path and through this Indian town 
Allegheny Indians carried their white prisoners from the eastern part of the 
State to what was then called Kittany, on the Allegheny River. From a 
most careful and thorough search to ascertain when the first path or trail of 
the whit^man was made through or in what is now our county, I find it to 
be in the year 1787. In this year of grace two hardy and courageous men, 
David and John Meade, were living in what is now Sunbury, Pennsyl- 
vania, where John was keeping an inn or tavern. These two brothers 
having read General George Washington's report to Crovernor Dinwiddie, 
of Virginia, of the rich lands and valleys that were unoccupied in what is 
now called Venango and Crawford Counties, Pennsylvania, determined 
to explore that region for themselves. To reach this uninhabited section 
they were compelled to open a path from east to west, through what is 
now called Jefferson County, then Northumberland County, and which 
path is now called in history " Meade's Trail. " This trail passed through 
what are now West Reynoldsville, Port Barnett, and Brookville. 

Fired with the zeal and energy of youth, David and John Meade 
blazed their way through this wilderness, over or through streams and 
across hills until they reached a broad valley upon whose bosom now 
reposes the city of Meadville. Being pleased with the valleys and hills, 
these two brothers returned to Sunbury over their trail in the spring of 
1788, only to invite and bring with them in the same year, over the same 
trail, to the rich valleys they had found, the following-named friends and 
neighbors : 

Thomas Martin, John Watson, James F. Randolph, Thomas Grant, 
Cornelius Van Horn, and Christopher Snyder. 

115 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

These men, with their goods packed on four horses, passed through 
where Brookville now is in 17S8, and settled in and around what is now 
Meadville, then Allegheny County. Meade's trail commenced at the 
mouth of Anderson's Creek, near Curwinsville, Clearfield County, Penn- 
sylvania, and over this trail until 1802 all transportation had to be car- 
ried into or through this wilderness on pack-saddles by pack-horses. A 
pack-horse load was from two to three hundred pounds. In 1802-3 the 
first wagon-road, or the old Milesburg and Waterford State Road, was 
opened for travel. The Meade settlers in Crawford County in T788 com- 
prised the pioneer permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. 

Soon after David Meade and his neighbors reached their new home 
the great chief of the Six Nations, accompanied by a number of his tribe, 
made these pioneers a social visit. This chief was Cornplanter, and he 
was then chief over our Indians who belonged to this confederation. In 
one of these friendly visits jNIeade discovered that five white men who 
had been captured when boys v/ere reared by the Indians and were then 
living under Cornplanter ; that these boys had all attained manhood 
and three of them had married Indian women. The five white men 
were Lashley Malone, of Bald Eagle Valley, Pennsylvania, Peter Krause, 
of Monongahela, Elijah Matthews, of Ohio, Nicholas Rosencrants and 
Nicholas Tanewood, of Mohawk Valley, New York State. 

In 1789, Darius Meade, father of David and John, Robert F. Ran- 
dolph, and Frederick Baum passed over this " trail" on their way to what 
is now Meadville. Many of the pioneers who travelled over this trail to 
the northwest were captured and murdered by the Indians in the raids of 
1791-92 and 1793. In 1791, Darius Meade was captured by two Indians 
while ploughing in a field. His captors were Captain Bull, a Delaware 
chief, and Conewyando, a Seneca chief. Meade in an effort to escape 
got possession of Bull's knife and killed Bull with it, and after a fierce 
struggle with Conewyando was killed, but Conewyando died in a few 
days from the wounds Meade gave him. Two of our soldiers buried 
Meade and Bull side by side where they fell. 

"Indian trails were 'bee lines,' over hill and dale, from point to 
point. Here and there were open spots on the summits, where runners 
signalled their coming by fires when on urgent business, and were 
promptly met at stated places by fresh men." 

Of the pioneer settlers who came over this trail and settled in what is 
now Jefferson and Clarion Counties, Judge Peter Clover, of Clarion 
County, in 1877, wrote as follows : 

"As stated in the outset, I will give a brief account of the pioneer 
settlement of Jefferson County. In 1800, Joseph Barnett and Samuel 
Scott settled forty miles west of Curwinsville, Clearfield County. They 
were men of great energy and industry, and soon made valuable improve- 
ments. They built a saw-mill, which was a great help to the people, 

116 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

providing them with boards, etc. They settled among the Indians of 
the Seneca tribe, who were, however, civil. Joseph Barnett was a very 
eccentric, high-minded man, and took a leading part in all the business 
transactions of the day ; a man long to be remembered by those who knew 
him. Shortly after their mill was made, perhaps as early as 1802, Henry 
Fir, a German, and a number of other families settled on the west of Mill 
Creek. — Jacob Mason, L. Long, John Dickson, Freedom Stiles, and a 
very large negro by the name of Fudge Vancamp, whose wool was as 
white as the wool of a sheep and whose face was as black as charcoal, and 
yet he was married to a white woman (?). 

" In about 1802, John Scott came to the county and settled on the 
farm where Corsica now stands, and about 1805, Peter Jones, John Roll, 
Sr., the Vasbinder families, and Elijah Graham, and, in 1806, John 
Matson and some others, settled near where Brookville now stands. In 
the southern part of the county, near Mahoning, John Bell settled at 
an early day. He was a man of iron will and great perseverance, afraid 
of neither man nor beast, and was a mighty hunter. Moses Knapp was 
also an early settler. 'Port Barnett,' as the settlement of Barnett and 
Scott was called, was the only stopping-place from Curwinsville for all 
those who came in 1801-2 through or for the wilderness over the 
'trail.' We imagine that these buildings would have a very welcome 
look to those footsore and weary travellers, — an oasis in the desert, as it 
were. 

"In the year i8or, with a courage nothing could daunt, ten men left 
their old homes and all the comforts of the more thickly settled and older 
portions of the eastern part of the State for the unsettled wilderness of 
the more western part, leaving behind them the many associations which 
render the old home so dear, and going forth, strong in might and iirm 
in the faith of the God of their fathers, to plant homes and erect new 
altars, around which to rear their young families. Brave hearts beat in 
the bosoms of those men and women who made so many and great sacri- 
fices in order to develop the resources of a portion of country almost un- 
known at that time. When we look abroad to- day and see what rapid 
strides have been made in the march 'of civilization, we say all honor to 
our forefathers who did so great a part of the work. It would be difficult 
for those of the present day to imagine how families could move upon 
horseback through an almost unbroken wilderness, with no road save an 
' Indian trail,' the women and children mounted upon horses, the cook- 
ing utensils, farming implements, such as hoes, axes, ploughs, and shovels, 
together with bedding and provision, placed on what were called pack- 
saddles, while following upon foot were the men with guns upon their 
shoulders, ready to takedown any small game that might cross their path, 
which would go towards making up their next meal. After a long and 
toilsome journey these pioneers halted on their course in what was then 

117 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

called Armstrong County (now Clarion County), and they immediately 
began the clearing of their lands, which they had purchased from General 
James Potter, of the far-famed ' Potter Fort,' in Penn's Valley, in Centre 
County, familiar to every one who has ever read of the terrible depreda- 
tions committed by the Indians in that part of the country at an early 
period of its history. 

" The names of the men were as follows : William Young, Sr., Philip 
Clover, Sr., John Love, James Potter, John Roll, Sr., James McFadden, 




Bear. 



John C. Corbett, Samuel Wilson, Sr., William Smith, and Philip Clover, Jr. 
Samuel Wilson returned to Centre County to spend the winter, but death 
removed him. In the following spring of 1802 his widow and her five sons 
returned,— namely, Robert, John, William, Samuel, and David. Those 
who did not take their families along in 1801, built their cabins, cleared 
some land, put in some wheat, raised potatoes and turnips, put them in 
their cabins and covered them with earth for safe-keeping for the next 
summer's use, and when they got all their work done, in the fall they 

118 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

returned to their families in Centre and Mifflin Counties, in the spring 
of 1802. Those, with some others, who also came at an early date, 
James Laughlin and Frederick Miles, built a saw-mill in 1S04, at or near 
the mouth of Pine Creek, and they were the first to run timber to 
Pittsburg from what is now Clarion County. 

" The food and raiment of the first settlers made a near approach to 
that of John the Baptist in the wilderness. Instead of locusts they had 
wild turkey, deer, and bear meat, and their raiment consisted of home- 
spun woollen, linen, or tow cloth, the wool and flax being all prepared 
for weaving by hand, there being no carding-machines in the county for 
many years after its first settlement ; then women carded by hand. 
When woollen cloth was wanted for men's wear, the process of fulling 
was as follows : The required quantity of flannel was laid upon the bare 
floor, and a quantity of soap and water thrown over it ; then a number 
of men seated upon stools would take hold of a rope tied in a circle and 
begin to kick the flannel with their bare feet. When it was supposed to 
be fulled sufficiently, the men were released from their task, which was a 
tiresome one, yet a mirth provoking one, too, for, if it were possible, one 
or so must come from his seat, to be landed in the midst of the heap of 
flannel and soapsuds, much to the merriment of the more fortunate ones. 
Flax was prepared by drying over a fire, then breaking, scutching, and 
hackling before being ready to spin. The linen and tow cloth supplied 
the place of muslin and calico of the present day. That which was for 
dress goods was made striped, either by color or blue through the white, 
which was considered a nice summer suit, when made into what was 
called a short gown and petticoat, which matched very well with the 
calfskin slippers of that day. The nearest store was at Kittanning, thirty- 
five miles distant, and calico was fifty cents per yard, and the road but a 
pathway through the woods. 

"In those days men appeared at church in linen shirts with collars 
four inches wide turned down over the shoulders, linen vest ; no coat in 
summer. Some wore cowhide shoes, others moccasins of buckskin, others 
again with their feet bare. In winter, men wore deerskin pantaloons 
and a long loose robe called a hunting shirt, bound round the body with 
a leathern girdle, and some a flannel warmus, which was a short kind of 
a coat, the women wearing flannel almost exclusively in the winter. 

" During the first two years after the first settlement the people had 
to pack their flour upon horseback from Centre, Westmoreland, and In- 
diana Counties ; also their iron and salt, which was at ten dollars per 
barrel ; iron fifteen cents per pound. Coffee and tea were but little used, 
tea being four dollars per pound, coffee seventy-five cents. Those arti- 
cles were considered great luxuries, both from the high price at which 
they came, and the difficulties attending their transportation through the 
woods, following the Indian trail. As to vegetables and animal food, 

119 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

there was no scarcity, as every one had gardens and the forest abounded 
with wild game, and then there were some expert huntsmen that kept the 
settlement supplied with meat. Those who were not a sure shot them- 
selves would go and work for the hunter while he would go out and sup- 
ply his less fortunate neighbor. Many, however, got along badly, some 
having nothing but potatoes and salt for substantial. I knew one hunter 
who killed one hundred and fifty deer and twenty bears in the first two 
years of the settlement, besides any amount of small game. When people 
began to need barns and larger houses, one would start out and invite the 
whole country for miles around, often going ten or twelve miles, and 
then it often took two or three days to raise a log barn, using horses to 
help to get up the logs." 

THE PIONEER EXPLORERS, ANDREW BARNETT AND SAMUEL SCOTT 
—THE PIONEER SETTLERS, JOSEPH HUTCHISON AND WIFE— THE 
PATRIARCH OF THE COUNTY, JOSEPH BARNETT— OTHER EARLY 
SETTLERS. 

In regard to the first settlement and early history of the county I 
have made diligent research, and find, what is not unusual, some con- 
flicting accounts and statements. These I have endeavored to compile, 
arrange, and harmonize to the best of my ability. 

From the best information I am enabled to gather and obtain, Andrew 
Barnett and Samuel Scott were sent in 1795 by Joseph Barnett, who was 
then living in either Northumberland, Lycoming, or Dauphin County, 
Pennsylvania, to explore the famous region then about French Creek, 
now Crawford County, Pennsylvania. But when these two "explorers" 
reached Mill Creek, now Port Barnett, they were forcibly impressed with 
the great natural advantages of the place for a saw-mill. They stopped 
over two or three days to examine the creek. They explored as far down 
as to where Summerville now is, and, after this careful inspection, con- 
cluded that this spot, where "the lofty pine leaned gloomily over every 
hill-side," was just the ideal home for a lumberman. 

They went no farther west, but returned east, and informed Joseph 
Barnett of the "Eureka" they had found. In the spring of 1797, 
Joseph and Andrew Barnett, Samuel Scott, and Moses Knapp came from 
their home at the mouth of Pine Creek, then in Lycoming County, to 
the ideal mill-site of Andrew, and so well pleased were they all that they 
commenced the erection of the pioneer cabin and mill in the wilderness, 
in what was then Pine Creek township, Lycoming County. The cabin 
and mill were on the present site of Humphrey's mill and grounds at Port 
fjarnett. The Indians assisted, about nine in number, to raise these 
buildings, and not a stroke of work would these savages do until they 
had eaten up all the provisions Mr. Barnett had. This took three days. 
Then the rascals exclaimed, "Me eat, me sleep; now me strong, now 

120 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

me work." In the fall of the same year Joseph Barnett returned to his 
family, leaving his brother Andrew and Scott to finish some work. In a 
short time thereafter Andrew Barnett became ill and died, and was buried 
on the north bank of the creek, at the junction of Sandy Lick and Mill 
Creek, Scott and two Indians being the only attendants at the funeral. 
Joseph Barnett was, therefore, soon followed by Scott, who was his 
brother-in-law, bringing the melancholy tidings of this event, which for 
a time cast a gloom over the future prospects of these sturdy pioneers. 

In 1798, however, Joseph Barnett, Scott, Knapp, and a married man 
by the name of Joseph Hutchison, came out with them and renewed 
their work. Hutchison brought his wife, household goods, also two 
cows and a calf, and commenced housekeeping, and lived here two years 
before Joseph Barnett brought his family, who were then living in Dauphin 
County. Hutchison is clearly the pioneer settler in what is now Jeffer- 
son County. He was a sawyer. In that year the mill was finished by 
Knapp and Scott, and in 1799 there was some lumber sawed. In the fall 
of 1800, Joseph Barnett brought his wife and family to the home prepared 
for them in the wilderness. Barnett brought with him two cows and 
seven horses, five loaded with goods as pack-horses and two as riding or 
family horses. His route of travel into this wilderness was over Meade's 
trail. 

The first boards were run in 1801 to what is now Pittsburg. About 
four thousand feet were put in a raft, or what would be a two-platform 
piece. Moses Knapp was the pioneer pilot. 

In a paper contributed to \.\\e Jefferson County Graphic by Mrs. Sarah 
Graham, a daughter of Joseph Barnett, this portion of the county is there 
described as " the home of the Indian, the panther, the bear, and deer; 
and wolves were as plenty as dogs in Brookville." 

Farther on this interesting account continues : " The first white child 
born in the county was J. P. Barnett. The next person that came here 
was Peter Jones. He settled on the farm now owned by John McCul- 
lough, and the next was a Mr. Roll, who settled on the farm now owned 
by John S. Barr. Then came Fudge Vancamp (negro), who built his 
cabin on the farm now owned by John Clark ; and then Adam Vasbinder, 
who settled on the farm at the present time owned by Samuel Bullers. 
William Vasbinder pitched his tent on the Kirkman homestead. Ludwick 
Long put up his wigwam on the place now owned by Mr. McConnell. 
Here Long erected a distillery, and the great dragon first opened his 
mouth and cast out his flood of water in the wilderness. John Dixon 
came next. He was our first school-master. The school-house was built 
on the McConnell farm ; built of round logs, and oiled paper for glass. 
Everything had to be carried from the settlements on horseback ; glass 
was too easily broken to try to bring so far. The second school-house 
was built on the south side of the pike, at the forks of the Ridgwayroad. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Here the first graveyard was laid out, and the first person buried in it was 
a child of Samuel Scott. 

"An old Muncy Indian, called Captain Hunt, was a frequent visitor 
at Port Barnett, and had his camp for several years on the Red Bank, 
within the limits of the southwestern part of what is now the town of 
Brookville. It is related of him that a cave near what is now the con- 
fluence of Sandy Lick and North Fork was occupied by him for several 
years as a hiding-place. He was a fugitive from his tribe for having 
killed a fellow Indian, and was frequently pursued by members of his 
race to avenge the crime. On these occasions he always managed to 
escape to his cave, approaching it by running in the water of the stream 
to avoid being followed by his track, and in this way he safely secreted 
himself and successfully evaded his pursuers. 

" In this same connection, a story is told of the capture of a child in 
Westmoreland County by the Muncy Indians, who carried him to their 
tribe and adopted him. By the law of this tribe, when one of their 
number was a fugitive from them for killing another, he was not per- 
mitted to return until the place of the murdered Indian was supplied by 
the capture of another male from the whites or some other tribe. It is, 
therefore, alleged and generally supposed that the little boy from West- 
moreland County, who had been sent by his mother on an errand to his 
father in the field, was observed by these Indians, seized and carried off 
to their camp, and that after this old Captain Hunt was at liberty to re- 
turn to his tribe. It is also related of the boy, that when he grew to be 
a man he was permitted to visit his parents and friends, but declined to 
remain among them, and returned to his Indian home. 

" Old Captain Hunt was a noted and successful hunter, obtaining his 
living in this way, and John Jones was often his companion on hunting 
excursions. One year he is said to have killed seventy-eight bears, and 
having the Indian appetite for whiskey, the skins of these were nearly all 
expended by him in procuring this beverage. 

"These dense forests were the abode of wild animals and game in 
greater numbers than most any other part of the country. Panthers, 
bears, and wolves roamed the woods undisturbed, the deer travelled about 
in droves, and flocks of wild turkeys were numerous." 

I may not be able to give the names of all the early settlers and the 
date of their arrival, but John, William, and Jacob Vasbinder reached 
here about the year 1802 or 1S03, John Matson, Sr., about 1S06, and 
the Lucases soon after. 

In 1803 the name Keystone was first applied to the State. This was in 
a printed political address to the peojjle. Pennsylvania was the central 
State of the original thirteen. 

John and Archibald Bell settled in the southern part of the county 
about 1S09 or 1810, and that locality was then an unbroken wilderness 

122 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

for miles around. Archie Hadden came and settled a mile southeast of 
him about 1812, and in 1815 Hugh McKee settled half a mile east of 
Perrysville. Jacob Hoover came in 181 4 and settled at the present site 
of Clayville. John Postlethwait, Sr., came in 1S18 from Westmoreland 
County, and located with his family a mile and a half northwest of Perrys- 
ville. A family by the name of Young settled about two miles west of 
this place about the same time. People began to settle in the vicinity of 
Punxsutawney about the year 181 6, the first being Abram Weaver, and 




Deer and fawn. 



Rev. David Barclay, Dr. John W. Jenks, and Nathaniel Tindle, with 
their families, and Elijah Heath arrived there about 181 7 or 181S. 
Charles C. Gaskill, Isaac P. Carmalt, John B. Henderson, and John Hess 
came some time later. About 1818, David, John, and Henry Milliron 
settled on Little Sandy, and Henry Nolf located on the same stream, 
where Langville now stands, and erected a saw-mill. In 1820, Lawrence 
Nolf came to Pine Run, two miles south of Ringgold, but made no im- 
provement, and afterwards sold to John Miller, who opened up a farm. 
Hon. James Winslow and others were also among the first settlers in the 
neighborhood of Punxsutawney. James McClelland and Michael Lantz 

123 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

came into the southwestern part of the county, within the limits of what 
is now Porter township, previous to the year 1820. William Stewart and 
Benjamin McBride made a settlement in the Round Bottom, west of 
Whitesville, in 1821, and in the same year James Stewart came and 
located three miles northwest of Perrysville. The year 1822 brought a 
number of families to the county, among whom were the following : David 
Postlethwait, who purchased Stewart and McBride's right of settlement 
in the Round Bottom, and settled with his brother John on Pine Run, 
who had preceded him there ; John McHenry, James Bell, and some 
others, who moved into the Round Bottom, near Whitesville, and a Mr. 
Baker, who settled across the creek east of Whitesville ; Jesse Armstrong 
and Adam Long, the former locating near where Clayville now is, and 
the latter at a place near Punxsutawney ; John Fuller, who settled near 
Reynoldsville ; and Samuel Newcome, who settled on Pine Run, about a 
mile above the Postlethwaits. In 1823, John Mcintosh and Henry Keys 
settled in Beech Woods, now Washington township, and the year 1824 
brought Alexander Osborn. John McGee, Matthew and William 
McDonald, Andrew Smith, John Wilson, William Cooper, and William 
McCullough were also among the first settlers in the northeastern part of 
the county. Other names of early settlers will be found in that part of 
this history devoted to the different towns and townships. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



provision for opening a road — report of the coinimissioners to 
the governor streams, etc. 

" An Act to provide for opening a Road from near the Bald 

Eagle's Nest, in Mifflin County, to Le Bceuf, in the County 

of Allegheny. 

" Wherf.as, a road has, under the direction of the Legislature, been 
in part laid out from Reading and Prescpie Isle ; and \vhereas. It is con- 
sidered that opening and improving said road would be greatly conducive 
to the interests of the community by opening a communication with the 
northwest part of the State, and would much facilitate an intercourse with 
Lake Erie ; 

" Section i. Therefore be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly 
met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the gov- 
ernor be empowered to contract for the opening and improving of the 
road between the Bald Eagle's Nest and the Allegheny River to Le 

Boeuf. 

124 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Section 2. A fid be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
when it shall appear to the persons who may contract for the opening of 







•I'''/' 



said road that deviations from such parts of the road as laid out are 
essentially necessary, he or they shall be authorized to make such devia- 

125 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tions, provided that such deviations do not depart materially from the 
survey already made. 

" Section 3. Jnd be it further enacted by the autJwrity aforesaid, That 
in order to carry this into effect the governor is empowered to draw his 
warrant on the State Treasurer for five thousand dollars, to be paid out 
of the sale of reserved lands and lots in the towns of Erie, Franklin, 
Warren, and Waterford." 

Passed April 10, 1799. Recorded in Law Book No. 6, p. 443. 

The Bald Eagle's Nest referred to above was Milesburg. The nest 
was not that of a bird, but that of an Indian warrior of that name, who 
built his wigwam there between two large white oaks. The western ter- 
minus of the road, then called Le Bceuf, is now known as Waterford, 
Erie County, Pennsylvania. On the completion of the turnpike most of 
this road was abandoned in this county. It is still in use from Brook- 
ville, about seven or eight miles of it, to the Olean road north of Cor- 
sica. It passed through where Brookville now is, near or on what is now 
Coal Alley. It was a great thoroughfare for the pioneers going to the 
West and Northwest. 

" Department of Internal Affairs, 
" Harrisburg, Pa., May 18, 1895. 

"Mr W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

"Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of the ist instant, we send 
you this contract and the accompanying papers, which are among the 
records of the department. As requested, we send you a copy of the 
report of the commissioners who made the survey of the road. 

" Very truly yours, 

" Isaac B. Brown, 

' ' Deputy Secretary. ' ' 

REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE GOVERNOR. 
" Whereas, In and by an Act of the General Assembly entitled ' An 
Act for laying out and opening sundry Roads within this Commonwealth 
and for other purposes,' it is among other things provided and declared, 
that your Excellency shall be empowered and required to appoint three 
persons as Commissioners, ' to view the ground and estimate the expense 
of opening and making a good Waggon Road from the Bald Eagle's 
Nest, or the end of Nittany Mountain, to the Town of Erie at Presque- 
isle, and to cause the said Road to be Surveyed and staked out, by the 
most practicable Route, and also cause a draft of the survey to be made out 
in Profile, and to report to the Legislature the several parts of the ex- 
pense that will be incurred in each County through which the said Road 
will pass : Provided, That the Commissioners thus appointed shall not 
stake out any part of the said Road when it may be carried on Roads 

126 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

heretofore laid out and opened, agreeably to the Provisions of former 
laws of this State.' 

"And Whereas, In pursuance of the power and authority given and 
granted in and by the said recited Act of Assembly, William Irvine, 
Andrew Ellicott, and George Wilson, Esquires, were by Letters Patent 
under your Excellency's hand, and the great Seal of the State, bearing 
date the thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and ninety-six, appointed Commissioners for the purposes 
aforesaid ; but the said Andrew Ellicott, Esq., hath since resigned the 
said appointment, and his resignation hath been duly accepted. 

"And Whereas, In pursuance of the power and authority given and 
granted in and by the said recited Act of Assembly, Joseph Ellicott was, 
by Letters Patent, under your Excellency's Hand and the great Seal of 
the State, bearing date the nineteenth day of August, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, appointed a Commis- 
sioner in the lieu and stead of the said Andrew Ellicott, Esq., who had 
resigned as aforesaid, and in conjunction with the said William Irvine 
and George Wilson, Esquires, the two other Commissioners for the pur- 
pose of viewing and laying out the said Road in manner as stated in and 
by the above recited Act of Assembly. 

" Now Therefore, The said George Wilson and Joseph Ellicott, two 
of the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid for the purposes aforesaid, 
beg leave to report : 

" I. That the said William Irvine, George Wilson, and Joseph Elli- 
cott, the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid, in conformity to your 
Excellency's Instructions in pursuance of the above recited Act of Assem- 
bly, with all convenient dispatch, in the execution of the trust reposed in 
them, proceeded to examine the situation of the Country at the Bald 
Eagle's Nest and to the end of Nittany Mountain, and having viewed the 
respective scites, they unanimously agreed to take their departure from the 
Bald Eagle's Nest. As soon as this decision took place the said William 
Irvine left the other Commissioners and returned home. 

" II. That the said George Wilson and Joseph Ellicott then pro- 
ceeded to view, survey, and stake out by a route, in their opinion, 
deemed the most practicable, a Road from the Bald Eagle's Nest towards 
the town of Erie at Presque-isle, and that they have ascertained the various 
courses and distances, the topographical situation, &c., of the said Road 
for the length of one hundred and sixteen miles, as represented in and by 
the Draft in profile hereunto annexed. 

"III. That in consequence of the failure of Horses, the scarcity of 
Provisions, the advanced season of the year, and various other obstacles 
which retarded the prosecution of the business, they were compelled to 
relinquish the object of their mission, and have left above thirty-six miles 
of the Road unfinished. 

127 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"IV. That they have used their utmost diligence and attention to 
direct the course of the said Road over firm and level ground ; but that 
frequently became totally impracticable, and where the ascent and descent 
of hills and mountains became unavoidable they made use of an altitude 
level, and have so adjusted its course that in its greatest elevation or de- 
pression it never exceeds an angle of six degrees with the horizon : Hence 
it may easily be inferred that considerable deviations from a straight line 
have necessarily occurred. 

" \'. That the land in that part of Mifflin County through which the 
Road passes is generally of an indifferent quality. For a part of this 
distance the Road passes over the declivities of the Allegheny Mountain 
and the Mushanon Hills. The country, however, for several miles be- 
tween the summit of the Allegheny Mountain and the Mushanon hills, 
and also that part of Huntingdon County which the Road intersects, is 
generally level and free from stones, well timbered with Hickory, White 
and Black Oak, Dogwood, Ash, Chestnut, Poplar, White Pine, «S:c., and 
upon the whole well calculated for settlements. The soil of that part of 
Lycoming County which is intersected by the Road is generally of a lux- 
uriant quality, abounding in many places with Stone coal, well timbered 
with various species of wood, and adapted to the production of all kinds 
of grain, &c., peculiar to the climate. 

"VI. Your Commissioners with pleasure remark that from the Sus- 
quehanna River at Anderson's Creek to the first navigable stream of 
Sandy Lick Creek (a branch of Allegheny River) the portage along the 
said road is but twenty-two Miles. The road crosses Sandy Lick Creek 
about fifty miles from its junction with the Allegheny River, and from 
the Susquehanna to the North-Western branch of Sandy Lick Creek the 
portage is thirty- three miles. The North-Western branch discharges its 
waters into Sandy Lick Creek, about sixty perches below the place where 
it is intersected by the Road at the junction of the North-Western branch. 
The Sandy Lick Creek is as large as the Susquehanna River at Anderson's 
Creek, and the distance of the said Creek from the Allegheny River is 
about thirty-five miles. The Portage from the Susquehanna at Ander- 
son's to Toby's Creek is forty-nine miles. Toby's Creek is twenty-two 
perches wide, and its distance from the intersection of the Road to the 
Allegheny River is about forty miles. It is navigable for boats, rafts, iszc, 
from the intersection of the Road to the Allegheny River and about fifty 
or sixty miles above the place of intersection. The portage from the 
Susquehanna to the Allegheny River at Sussunadohtaw is seventy-two 
miles, and for the greater ])art of the distance of these portages the Road 
passes through a rich and fertile country. 

"VII. That your Commissioners have formed their estimate of ex- 
penses upon the supposition that the said Road, as far as it has been sur- 
veyed, will be opened thirty feet in width ; sixteen feet in the middle to 

1 28 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be cut and cleared as nearly level with the surface of the earth as prac- 
ticable, but where digging and levelling on the sides of Hills and Moun- 
tains shall become necessary that a passage will be dug twelve feet wide, 
and that Bridges and causeways will be erected and formed over all miry 
places to enable Waggons to pass. 

"A general estimate of expenditures requisite in opening, clearing, 
digging, levelling, erecting Bridges and forming causeways over the said 
Road. 

"The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Mifflin, 
commencing at the Bald Eagle's Nest and ending at the Big Mushanon 
Creek, nineteen miles & sixteen perches. 

"For opening, cleaning, digging, levelling, forming ^ .. 

causeways on the said Road and erecting a Bridge over the > ^ , 
Little Mushanon in the said County. J 

" The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Hunting- 
don, commencing at the Big Mushanon Creek and ending at the West 
branch of the Susquehanna River, twenty-one miles one hundred and 
fifty-seven perches. 

"For opening, clearing, digging, levelling, forming^ 
causeways on the said Road and erecting a Bridge over V 2643.37. 
Alder Run in said County. J 

"The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Ly- 
coming, commencing at the West branch of Susi^uehanna and ending at 
the Allegheny River, seventy-two miles c\: 193 perches. 

" For opening, clearing, digging, levelling, and forming] 
Causeways on the said Road. J 

" VIIL That the said Road in its whole length passes through one 
entire and uninterrupted Wilderness, and the expenses already incurred 
in the execution of the business have considerably exceeded the legal 
appropriation intended for its completion. 

" Geo. Wilson. 
Joseph Ellicott." 

DELAWARE INDIAN AND PIONEER NAMES FOR RIVERS AND CREEKS; 
ALSO ACTS OF LEGISLATURE DECLARING THESE STREAMS PUB- 
LIC HIGHWAYS. 

" Where skimmed the Indian barlv, 
And the song of the l^ioatman re-echoed tlirough the forest." 

Topi-hanne — Toby Creek; 1749, Riviere an Fiel — Gall River. 
Ma-onink — Mahoning. 
Tangawunsch-hanne — North Fork. 

Legamwi mahonne — Sandy Lick, or Red Bank; 1749, Riviere au 
Vermilion. 

129 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Legamvvi-hanne — Sandy Creek. 

The reason why Toby Creek was subsequently called Clarion River 
was because there were no less than three or four Toby Creeks in Penn- 
sylvania. There was one in Monroe County, one in Luzerne, and one 
in Venango, which is now Clarion. Now, Tobyhanna, or Toby Creek, 
is corrupted from Topi-hanne, signifying alder stream ; that is, a stream 
whose banks were fringed with alders. I find also that the Clarion River 
was called by the Delawares Gawunsch-hanne ; that is, brier stream, a 
stream whose banks are overgrown with briers. There seems to be an 
incongruity, but the probabilities are that farther down in what is now 
Clarion County the stream was overgrown with alder- bushes. Mahoning 
is a corruption of Ma-onink, and signifies where there is a lick, or at the 
lick ; sometimes a stream flowing there or near a lick. This name is a 
very common one for rivers and places in the Delaware country, along 
which or where the surface of the ground was covered with saline de- 
posits, provisionally called "licks," from the fact that deer, elk, buffalo, 
and other animals frequented these places and licked the salted earth. 

Mahonitty signifies a small lick, and Ma-oning a stream flowing from 
or near a lick. 

By the act of Assembly, March 21, 1808, this creek was declared to 
be a public highway for the passage of rafts, boats, and other vessels from 
its confluence with the Allegheny River to the mouth of Canoe Creek, in 
Indiana County. That act authorized the inhabitants along its banks, and 
others desirous of using it for navigation, to remove all natural and arti- 
ficial obstructions in it, except dams for mills and other water -works, and 
to erect slopes at the mill and other dams, which must be so constructed 
as not to injure the works of such dams. Any person owning or possess- 
ing lands along this stream has the liberty to construct dams across it, 
subject, however, to the restrictions and provisions of the general act 
authorizing the riparian owners to erect dams for mills on navigable 
streams. William Travis and Joseph Marshall were appointed to super- 
intend the expenditure of eight hundred dollars for the improvement of 
this stream, authorized by the act of March 24, 181 7, to whom an order 
for their services for two hundred and one dollars was issued by the com- 
missioners of this county December 23, 1818. 

The Act of Legislature, No. 129, declaring part of Big Mahoning 
Creek a public highway, approved April 13, 1S33, reads as follows : 

" Section 2. From and after the passage of this act, that part of Big 
Mahoning Creek, in Jefferson County, from the mouth of Canoe Creek, 
in said county, is hereby declared a public highway for the passage of 
rafts, boats, and other craft ; and it shall and may be lawful for persons 
desirous of using the navigation of said creek between the points afore- 
said to remove all natural and artificial obstructions from the bed or 
channel of said creek, except dams for mills and other water works, and 

130 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

also to erect such slopes at the mill or other dams on said creek as may 
be necessary for the passage of rafts, boats, and other vessels. Provided, 
such slopes be so constructed as not to injure the works of such dams. 
And provided also, that any person or persons owning or possessing lands 
on said creek shall have liberty to construct any dam or dams across the 
same, agreeably and subject to all the restrictions and provisions of an act 
of the General Assembly of this Commonwealth, passed the twenty-third 
day of March, one thousand eight hundred and three, entitled ' An Act 
to authorize any person or persons owning lands adjoining navigable 
streams of water declared public highways to erect dams on such streams 
for mill and other water-works.' " 

Tangawunsch-hanne, North Fork, meant in the Indian tongue Little 
Brier Stream, or stream whose banks are overgrown with green brier. 

The following act of the Legislature declared it a public highway. 

An act, No. 64, declaring the North Fork of Sandy Lick Creek, in 
the county of Jefferson, from the mouth thereof to Ridgway, in said 
county, a public highway : 

" Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That the North Fork of Sandy Lick 
Creek, in the county of Jefferson, from the mouth thereof to Ridgway, in 
said county, be, and the same is hereby declared a public highway ; and 
it shall and maybe lawful for any person or persons desirous of improving 
or using the navigation of said stream to remove thereout all obstruc- 
tions, except dams for mills and other water-works already built, on which 
dam any such person or persons as aforesaid shall have full power to 
make slopes, such as are hereinafter described, and to keep the same in 
repair for the passage of boats, rafts, and other craft. Provided, that 
such slopes be so constructed as not to injure such dams. 

"Approved — the thirteenth day of March, a.d. one thousand eight 
hundred and thirty-three. 

" George Wolf, 

" Governor.'''' 

" Legamwi-mahonne means a sandy lick creek; that is, Sandy Lick, 
which was the name of this stream as late as 1792, from its source to its 
mouth, according to Reading Howell's map of that year. It bore that 
name even later. By the act of Assembly, March 21, 1798, ' Sandy Lick 
or Red Bank Creek' was declared to be a public stream or highway ' from 
the mouth up to the second or great fork.' The writer has not been able 
to ascertain just when, why, or at whose suggestion its original name was 
changed to Red Bank, by which it has been known by the oldest inhab- 
itants now living in the region through which it flows. Perhaps the 
change may have been suggested by the red color of the soil of its banks 
many miles up from its mouth." — History of Armstrong County, Pennsyl- 
vania. 

131 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF RED BANK CREEK. 

In 1749 the governor-general of Canada sent an expedition under 
Celeron de Bienville down what is now known as the Allegheny and 
Ohio Rivers, to take possession of the country in the name of the king 
of France. The command embraced two hundred and fifteen French 
and Canadian soldiers and fifty-five Indians. Father Bonnecamp, a 
chaplain of this expedition, drew a map of the route, locating the tribes 
of Indians, and giving the Indian names of the tributaries of these rivers 
and also the name of the Indian villages. This manuscript map was de- 
posited and is still in the archives of the Department de la Marine in 
Paris, and is styled " Map of a Voyage made on the Beautiful River in 
New Flanders, 1749, by Rev. Father Bonnecamp, Jesuit Mathematician." 
The map is very correct, considering all the circumstances. It has 
been reproduced on a smaller scale by George Dallas Albert and pub- 
lished in "The Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," in vol. ii., with an ex- 
planation of the map, French names, and their corresponding American 
designations. In this map I find Riviere au Vermilion emptying into 
the Allegheny River, corresponding to the exact location of what is now 
called Red Bank Creek, and unfortunately translated by Mr. Albert as 
Mahoning Creek. On the Allegheny River going downward I find 
Riviere aux Bceuf, Beef, or Buffalo River, now called French Creek ; 
then Riviere au Fiel, — Gall River or Clarion River ; third. Riviere au 
Vermilion or Red Bank Creek ; fourth, a stream not named, which 
must have been Mahoning ; and then Attique, a village, or what is now 
Kittanning. Mr. Albert should have named the undesignated stream 
Mahoning and the Vermilion River Eed Bank. 

In 1798 this stream was designated by legal statute as Sandy Lick or 
Red Bank Creek, but later by common acceptance the name Sandy Lick 
was applied to that portion above where the North Fork unites, and Red 
Bank from Brook ville to the mouth. 

" The first lot of lumber which Barnett and Scott sent down the Red 
Bank was a small platform of timber, with poles instead of oars as the pro- 
pelling power. There was a flood in this stream in 1S06 which reached 
eight or ten feet up the trees on the flats. 

"One thousand dollars was appropriated by the act of Assembly 
'making appropriations for certain internal improvements,' approved 
March 24, 181 7, for the purpose of improving this creek, and Levi Gib- 
son and Samuel C. Orr were appointed commissioners to superintend the 
application of the money. By the act of April 4, 1S26, ' Sandy Lick, or 
Red Bank Creek,' was declared a public highway only for the passage of 
boats, rafts, etc., descending it. That act also made it lawful for all 
persons owning lands adjoining this stream to erect mill dams across it, 
and other water-works along it, to keep them in good rejjair, and draw 

132 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

off enough water to operate them on their own land, but required them 
' to make a slope from the top, descending fifteen feet for every foot the 
dam is high, and not less than forty feet in breadth,' so as to afford a 
good navigation, and not to infringe the rights and privileges of any owner 
of private property. 

" The first flat-boat that descended this stream was piloted by Samuel 
Knapp, in full Indian costume. In 1832 or 1833 two boats loaded with 
sawed lumber owned by Uriah Matson, which found a good market in 
Cincinnati, with the proceeds of which Matson purchased the goods 
with which he opened his store at Brookville. " — History of Armstrong 
Coimty. 

An act declaring the rivers Ohio and Allegheny, and certain branches 
thereof, public highways : 

"Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passing of 
this act, the river Ohio, from the western boundary of the State up to the 
mouth of the Monongahela, Big Beaver Creek, from the mouth of the 
first fork in the seventh district of donation land, Allegheny River, from 
the mouth to the northern boundary of the State, French Creek to the 
town of Le Bceuf, and Conewango Creek, from the mouth thereof to the 
State line, Cussawago Creek, from the mouth of the main forks. Little 
Coniate Creek, from the mouth up to the inlet of the Little Coniate 
Lake, Toby's Creek, from the mouth up to the second fork (now Clarion 
River, and Johnsonburg was the second fork). Oil Creek, from the mouth 
up to the main fork. Broken Straw Creek, from the mouth up to the second 
fork, Sandy Lick, or Red Bank Creek, from the mouth up to the second 
great fork, be, and the same are hereby declared to be public streams 
and highways for the passage of boats and rafts ; and it shall and may be 
lawful for the inhabitants or others desirous of using the navigation of 
the said river and branches thereof to remove all natural obstructions in 
the said river and branches aforesaid." Passed 21st March, 1798. Re- 
corded in Law Book No. VI. page 245. 

The first fork was at Brookville's site, the second great fork was at 
Port Barnett. 

An act, No. 189, declaring Little Toby's Creek, Black Lick Creek, 
Little Oil Creek, and Clark's Creek public highways : 

"Section i. Be it enacted, etc.. That from and after the passage of 
this act Little Toby's Creek, in the counties of Clearfield and Jefferson, 
from the mouth of John Shaffer's mill run, on the main branch of Toby's 
Creek, and from the forks of Brandy Camp (or Kersey Creek) to the 
Clarion River, 

;i; >!< ^ ^ ^ ;f; i}: ^ ;{; 

be, and the same are hereby declared public highways for the passage of 
rafts, boats, and other craft, and it shall and may be lawful for, etc. 
(The same provisions follow here as in No. 129.) 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"Approved — the fourteenth day of April, a.d. one thousand eight 

hundred and twenty-eight. 

" J. Andw. Shultz, 

The little Sandy Creek makes a long circuit through about what is 
now the centre of the county. Numerous runs approach it from the east 
and north. The principal streamlets are Big Run, ¥Ak Run, and Pine 
Run. This region of the county is hilly and the ravines are deep, and 
at some points wide ranges of bottom flats. When the pioneer settled 
here the stream was the southwestern portion of the county. The table- 
lands along this stream range in height from twelve hundred to eighteen 
hundred feet above the sea. 

"THAT FLOOD. 

"The flood is here. During the past week all has been bustle and 
hurry. Our lumbermen have had an excellent time to start their lumber 
to market, and now the great body of the lumber manufactured on the 
Clarion and its tributaries during the past year is floating down-stream. 
The waters have been very accommodating for a few days past, — neither 
too high nor too low. Pilots are in their glory. Each one was the first to 
discover that stray ' snag' which had hid itself beneath the foaming waters 
in some critical spot, and although some of them happened to run pretty 
close to it, yet all knew it was there, and would have missed it, if they 
could ; and some of them did miss it by dint of ' cracking her up behind' 
with all their power. 

"The rafting season on these waters is a season of life and activity, 
bustle and confusion, wet limbs and red wamuses. It gives to our town 
an important and business-like appearance. The landing of steamers and 
other craft in a great commercial mart may be some, but the landing of 
rafts in ' Dick's Pond' and ' the Eddy' is considerable more. The skill, 
nerve, and muscle here exhibited — to say nothing of an occasional big 
word that accidentally falls from some excited pilot or proprietor — can 
find its equal nowhere only on some lumbering stream during a rafting 
freshet. There is something fascinating about this rafting business, not- 
withstanding its incessant hard labor. As they proceed downward, float- 
ing majestically over the virgin bosom of the mighty waters, the scene 
changes with them, the fare changes, the atmosphere changes, the waters 
change. Here the hungry raftmen recruit their drooping energies with 
'the best the country can afford,' and such as are so disposed (and we 
are happy to say there are but few of this class) can wet their whistles 
with pure, unadulterated ' rot gut,' with which ' our bar' is always boun- 
tifully supplied. On their course they soon find beef and potatoes and 
hot cakes more scarce, but are cheered up by a change from this fare to 
'a great many molasses,' lots of flitch, and mouldy bread that has been 

134 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

kept over from the last rafting for their especial benefit, with common 
corn whiskey. But anything for a change. No matter if you do flop out 
of the frying-pan into the fire. Peradventure, our hardy fellow- citizens, 
with rough exterior, but large, generous souls glowing within them, 
arrive at towns below, where they are greeted with ' Olean hoosiers' 
from every long nine, with a smutty-faced urchin attached to it, they 
meet. But no matter. They have ' better clothes' at home and more 




Banking logs. 



rhino in their pockets than any score of these foppish nobodies. They 
command respect wherever they land, whether it be in a skiff at some 
little settlement to get a small stock of provisions, or in the populous 
cities where they find a market. Their frank, open countenances, their 
independent swagger, and their muscular appearance is enough to secure 
them from molestation. They see all the curiosities of the city, visit the 
theatre, take a peep into the 'punch-room,' just to see what is there. 
They get a view of all the fashionable resorts of the city. But we are not 
going to speak of all the places they frequent ! They do not care for 
expenses. They go down the river for fun, not for profit, and as they 

135 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

did not have much going down, — tugging away at an oar, in rain-, hail-, 
and snow-storms, — they are bent on making up for lost time. Finally, 
after they have become sick and tired of smoke and confusion, they turn 
their steps homeward, and in due time they arrive at their mountain home, 
and are ready to go to work — when they get rested." — Elk Advocate. 

In 1844 the waters of what is now called the Clarion were as clear as 
crystal, pure as life, and gurgled into the river from mountain springs. 
No tannery or other refuse was to be found in it. In 1749 the French 
named the stream Gall River. It was declared a public highway, as 




Driving logs. 



Toby's Creek, by an act of the Legislature, March 21, 1798, up to the 
second great fork. 

In early times this river was known as Stump Creek, and sometimes 
as Toby's Creek, and it is said that it got these two names after two 
Indian hunters, who were in the habit (in the winter) of going up this 
river in canoes to hunt and trap. They would return each spring 
with their furs and meat to their villages down the Allegheny and Ohio 
Rivers. 

It was called Toby's Creek as early as 1758. Unable myself to find 
any authority for a change to Clarion, I wrote to the Secretary of Internal 
Affairs, and received the following reply, — viz. : 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"June S, 1897. 
" Hon. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of recent date, we beg to say 
that we are unable to find any act of Assembly changing the name of 
Toby's Creek to Clarion River. In an act to authorize the erection of a 
dam, passed in 1822, this stream is designated as ' Toby's Creek, other- 
wise called Clarion River.' 

" Very truly yours, 

" James W. Latta, 

" Secretary y 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE OLD STATE ROAD EARLY ROADS AND TRAILS — WHY THE STATE ROAD 

WAS iMADE THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE ROAD LAWS, ETC., 

TOUCHING THE SUBJECT THE SURVEY THE ROAD COMPLETED — THE 

ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE WHICH SANCTIONED THE BUILDING OF THE 
ROAD. 

In 1 79 1 and 1793 a State road through this wilderness to what is now 
called Waterford was incepted, agitated, and legalized ; but, owing to 
the Indian troubles of 1791, '92, '93, and '94, all efforts had to be 
stopped and all legal proceedings annulled and repealed. The Indian 
troubles were settled in 1794 by war and purchases, and then legal steps 
were again taken to open up this great northwest in 1795 ^^^ '^19^- The 
reader will please bear in mind that Le Bceuf is now Waterford, Penn- 
sylvania, Presque Isle is now Erie City, Pennsylvania, and Bald Eagle's 
Nest is now Milesburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania. 

EARLY ROADS AND TRAILS. 

In 17S4-85 the old State Road from the east was opened through 
to Fort Pitt in the west over what had been previously a path, or what 
was called Forbes's Trail. This trail passed through Bedford, Westmore- 
land, and other counties. In those days the State surveyed and laid 
out county seats and sold the lots. The lots were generally sold at 
auction. All government stores, as well as groceries and goods of every 
description, were for a long'time carried from the east to the west on 
pack-horses over trails. One man would sometimes drive a hundred 
horses. 

Guards from the militia were a necessity for their trains. Guards 
were also a necessity for the road surveyors and road-makers. A body 
of about fifty militia was the usual number, and sometimes these soldiers 
would do some work as well as guard the road-makers. Transportation 
was also carried over Meade's trail, which passed through West Reynolds- 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ville, in the same way. In 17S7 the only road from Fort Pitt to Le Bteuf 
(now Waterford) was a trail or path through what is now Butler County 
and up the Allegheny River. The turnpike over or across the old Forbes's 
trail was finished to Pittsburg in 1S19. 

In 1794 the great problem was a thoroughfare from the east to the 
northwest. The defence of the western portion of the State from In- 
dians required the State and the national authorities to be constantly on 
the alert. On the 28th of February, 1794, the Legislature passed an act 
for "raising soldiers for the defence of the western frontiers." Also at 
this time a combined effort of the nation and State was made to lay out 
a town at Presque Isle (now Erie) on Lake Erie. 

WHY THE STATE ROAD WAS MADE. 

In order to protect these frontiers from the British and Indians a 
road through this wilderness seemed an absolute necessity, hence an act 
was passed through the Legislature previous to or in 1794, authorizing 
the surveying and making of a State road from Reading to Presque Isle 
(Erie City). Colonel ^Villiam Irvine and Andrew Ellicott were the com- 
missioners. These men were also commissioners to lay out the town of 
Erie (Presque Isle). The official instructions to the commissioners and 

Captain Denny were as follows : 

"Philadelphia, March i, 1794. 

" Gentlemen, — In providing for the general defence of the frontiers, 
the Legislature has authorized me to form a detachment of troops, for 
carrying into effect the act directing a town to be laid out at or near 
Presque Isle ; and as the subject of the commission to survey and lay out 
a road from Reading to Presque Isle may be promoted by the same 
measure, I have instructed Captain Denny, the commanding officer of 
the detachment, to grant to you as commissioners all the aid and pro- 
tection that is compatible with a due attention to the particular charge 
which is confided to him. Under these circumstances, I trust you will 
find it convenient to proceed immediately in the execution of your work. 

" I am, gentlemen, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

"Thomas Mifflin. 

"To William Ir\'ine and Andrew Ellicott, Commissioners for lay- 
ing out a road from Reading to Presque Isle." 

"Philadelphia, March i, 1794. 
"The Legislature having made provision for surveying and opening 
two roads, — one from Reading and the other from French Creek to 
Presque Isle, — it is obvious that the establishment of the town is inti- 
mately connected with those objects ; and, therefore, you shall deem it 
your duty to grant all the aid and protection to the respective commis- 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

sioners and contractors employed in surveying and opening those roads 
that is compatible with due attention to the particular charge confided in 
you. 

" Your most obedient servant, 

"Thomas Mifflin. 
"To Ebenezer Denny, Esy., Captain of the Allegheny Company, 
&c." 

FIRST ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE ROAD. 

Captain Ebenezer Denny, with a detachment of soldiers, was ordered 
by the government to accompany these men. On the arrival of Denny 
and the soldiers at what is now Franklin, Venango County, he discovered 
that the Indians were cross and ugly, and General Wilkins, in talking to 
Mr. Dallas, said, " The English are fixed in their opposition to the open- 
ing of the road to Presque Isle, and are determined to prevent it by the 
English and Indians." Orders were then given to Captain Denny to go 
no farther than Le Bceuf (now Waterford), and occupy two small block- 
houses, which had been erected for Commissioners Irvine and Ellicott. 

This was the first attempt to open up a road through the wilderness 
of what is now Jefferson County. Governor Mifflin applied to the Presi- 
dent for a thousand militia soldiers to enforce this work ; but the Presi- 
dent counselled peace. Work was suspended at Presque Isle, and it was 
not until in April, 1795, that all difficulties were removed and Colonel 
William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott resumed work. At this time Irvine 
commanded the troops and Ellicott had charge of the surveyors. 

LAWS, ETC., TOUCHING THE SUBJECT. 

The following letter to the author from Hon. Isaac B. Brown, Secre- 
tary Pennsylvania Department of Internal Affairs, of Harrisburg, gives 
some valuable information concerning the road. 

" Harrisburg, April 29, 1895. 
" Mr. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of the 13th instant, we beg to 
say that you will find ' An Act to provide for opening a road from near 
the Bald Eagle's Nest, in Mifflin County, to Le Bceuf, in the county of 
Allegheny,' passed April 10, 1790, published in full in Bioren's 'Laws 
of Pennsylvania,' vol. vi. p. 24. The reference in the preamble of this 
act to a road 'in part laid out from Reading to Presque Isle,' is probably 
to an act passed April 11, 1793, appropriating certain sums of money 
for laying out a large number of roads within the State. The following 
appropriation is made in the first section : ' For viewing and laying out 
a road from Reading to Presque Isle, one thousand three hundred and 
thirty- three dollars.' This act appears in Bioren's 'Laws,' vol. iv. p. 
277 ,?/ seq. It is possible, however, that the reference was intended to 

139 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

apply to a road from the Bald Eagle's Nest to the Allegheny River, which 
was surveyed and laid out under an act passed April 4, 1796, entitled 
'An Act for laying out and opening sundry roads within this Common- 
wealth, and for other purposes.' This act will be found in full in Bioren's 
'Laws,' vol. V. p. 1S7. By this act the governor was authorized and 
empowered to appoint ' three skilful persons to view the ground, and 
estimate the expense of opening and making a good wagon road from 
the Bald Eagle's Nest, or the end of the Nittany Mountain, to the town 
of Erie at Presque Isle. ' 

"Under this last act the governor, on the 13th day of April, 1796, 
appointed William Irvine, Andrew Ellicott, and George Wilson commis- 
sioners to make the survey. Andrew Ellicott declined the appointment, 
and Joseph Ellicott was appointed in his place. These men met to ex- 
amine the situation of the country at the Bald Eagle's Nest and at the 
end of Nittany Mountain, and determined to start at the Bald Eagle's 
Nest, now Milesburg, Centre County. It appears, however, that William 
Irvine returned home, and George Wilson and Joseph Ellicott proceeded 
to make the survey. Their draft and report are among the records of 
this department, and show their work from the Bald Eagle's Nest to the 
Allegheny River, a distance of one hundred and sixteen miles by their 
measurement. After reaching the Allegheny River, they say that ' in 
consequence of the failure of horses, the scarcity of provisions, the ad- 
vanced season of the year, and various other obstacles which retarded the 
prosecution of the business, they were compelled to relinquish the object 
of their mission, and have left above thirty-six miles of the road unfin- 
ished.' 

" Very truly yours, 

" Is.\.A.c B. Brown, 

^'Secretary.'" 

THE SURVEY. 

The point on the Allegheny River where these surveyors stopped in 
the fall of 1796 was on the land where I^li Holeman settled in iSoo. It 
is three miles below Tionesta borough. Forest County, Pennsylvania. 
For the sixteen years of travel and traffic of emigrants and others over 
this old State Road each and all had to force or cross this ferry. The 
old State Road never passed through where Clarion now is, or through 
Franklin or Meadville. It passed through the wilderness away north of 
these towns, but connected with other State roads running through them. 
All of the county histories which have been written prior to this one 
confound this road with the turnpike, which was not built or opened for 
traffic until November, 1S20. At Brookville the turnpike survey in 1818 
took a separate and distinct southerly course from the old State Road, 
and passed through l-'ranklin, Meadville, and so forth. 

140 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

THE ROAD COMPLETED. 

The road was officially taken from the contractors and a quietus en- 
tered as to the contract April 2, 1S04. The course of the road through 
what is now Winslow township was through Rathmel, down Sandy Lick 
to the south side, crossing the creek between Sandy Valley and near 
where West Reynoldsville now is, where it deflected to the right over the 
hill, through the farm now occupied by Robert Waite. This State road 
was the great public thoroughfare for emigrants from the east to the 
northwest for a period of sixteen years, until the turnpike was finished in 
1820. A portion of about seven miles is still in use from Brookville to 
the Clarion County line, parallel, but north of that part of the turnpike 
which extends from Brookville to Corsica. 

SANCTIONED BY THE LEGISLATURE. 

The following is the act which authorized the building of the State 
Road, of which this article is a history : 

"An Act for laying out and opening Sundry Roads wtthin this 
Commonwealth, and for Other Purposes. 

" Whereas, From the increasing population of the northern and 
northwestern parts of this State, it becomes expedient at this time to pro- 
vide for the laying out and opening the necessary roads, for the accom- 
modation of the same ; therefore, 

" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commomvealth of Fennsylvajiia in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the governor be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and empowered to appoint three skilful persons to 
view the ground and estimate the expense of opening and making a good 
wagon road from the town of Northampton, in the county of Northamp- 
ton, to the mouth of Tioga, in the county of Luzerne, and from thence, 
by the most practicable route, to the northern line of this State ; and 
three skilful persons to view the ground and estimate the expense of 
opening and making a good wagon road from the Bald Eagle's Nest, or 
the end of the Nittany Mountain, to the town of Erie, at Presque Isle ; 
and to cause the said roads to be surveyed and staked out by the most 
practicable routes ; and also to cause drafts of the roads to be made in 
profile, and report to the Legislature the proportional parts of the ex- 
pense that will be incurred in each county through which the said road 
will pass ; provided that the commissioners thus appointed shall not stake 
out any part of the said roads when they may be carried on roads hereto- 
fore laid out and opened agreeably to the provisions of former laws of 
this State. 

" Section 2. And be it fitrthcr enacted by the authority aforesaid. That 
the governor be, and he is hereby, empowered to contract, either with 

141 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

individuals, or with companies, for opening a road from Pittsburg, by 
the way of Fort Franklin, to Le Boeuf, and to draw his warrant on the 
State Treasurer for a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, to defray 
the expense of laying out the roads to Tioga and Erie ; a sum not ex- 
ceeding four thousand dollars, to defray the expense of opening the road 
from Pittsburg, by Fort Franklin, to Le Bceuff. Provided always, That 
all contracts to be made by virtue of this act shall be registered by the 
governor, according to the directions of the eighth section of the act, 
entitled ' An Act to provide for the opening and improving sundry navi- 
gable waters and roads within the Commonwealth,' passed the thirteenth 
day of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.-'- 

" Section 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the governor be, and he is hereby, empowered to draw his warrant in 
favor of Joseph Horsefield for any sum not exceeding five hundred dol- 
lars, to be applied towards removing the fallen timber and other obstruc- 
tions in the road leading from Jacob Heller's tavern, in Northampton 
County, to Wilkesbarre, in Luzerne County. Passed 4th April, 1796." 

"Department of Internal Affairs, 
" Harrisburg, Pa., June 7, 1895. 

" Hon. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — Herewith you will find copies of the contract and the 
reports of John Fleming relating to the road from Bald Eagle's Nest to 
Le Boeuff. 

" Very truly yours, 

" James W. Latta, 

" Secretary. '" 

"Articles of Agreement made and entered into this third day of 
July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety- 
nine, between Thomas Mifflin, Governor of the Commonwealth of Penn- 
sylvania, of the one part, and Samuel Miles and Roger Alden, of the 
City of Philadelphia, Esquires, of the other part. 

"Whereas, In and by an Act of the General Assembly, entitled 
' An Act to provide for opening a Road from near the Bald Eagle's Nest, 
in Mifflin county, to Le Boeuff, in the county of Allegheny,' passed the 
tenth day of April, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety- 
nine, the Governor is empowered to contract for opening and improving 
the said road in the manner and on the terms in the said act prescribed : 
AND Whereas, The said Samuel Miles and Roger Alden have made pro- 
posals for entering into the said contract upon principles which appear 
to the Governor most likely to accomplish the good purposes by the Legis- 

* For the act referred to in this section, see vol. iv. chap. 155S. 
142 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

lature intended : N(nv these Articles Witness, That the said Samuel 
Miles and Roger Alden, jointly and severally for themselves, their Heirs, 
Executors, and Administrators, covenant, promise, and agree to and with 
the said Thomas Mifflin and his successors, Governors of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania, in consideration of the Covenant on behalf of the 
said Commonwealth hereinafter made, That they, the said Samuel Miles 
and Roger Alden, their Heirs, Executors, and Administrators, shall and 
will, well and faithfully, and with all convenient diligence, open, extend, 
and improve the said Road in manner following, — that is to say : That 
the Road shall be opened generally of such width as to enable and admit 
two waggons to pass each other, except only in such place or places as 
from great natural difficulty of Mountains, Hills, Rocks, and Morasses 
shall render such an undertaking impracticable or unreasonably laborious 
and expensive, considering the public consideration therefor given. But 
in all such place or places there shall be a good passage of at least ten feet 
wide, with proper and convenient passing places in view : And that the 
said Contractors will advance by anticipation (if necessary) the sums of 
money requisite to open the said Road in the manner aforesaid. And 
the said Thomas Mifflin, in consideration of the Covenants and under- 
taking of the said Contractors, and by virtue of the power in the said 
Act of Assembly to him given, covenants, promises, and agrees to and 
with the said Samuel Miles and Roger Alden, their Executors, Adminis- 
trators, and Assigns, that they shall have and receive the sum of Five 
Thousand Dollars, to be paid out of the first money arising from the sale 
of the reserved Lands cSc Lots at the Towns of Erie, Franklin, Warren, 
and Waterford : And for which sum of Five Thousand Dollars, the said 
Thomas Mifflin covenants, promises, and agrees to draw his Warrant or 
Warrants on the State Treasurer in favor of the said Contractors. In 
Witness whereof the parties have hereunto set their respective hands & 
seals the day and year first above written. 

(Signed) "Samuel Miles, [seal] 

Roger Alden, [seal] 

Thos. Mifflin, [seal] 

"Sealed and Delivered 

in the presence of 

A. W. Foster, 

Jno. Miles." 

To the above contract appear the names of George Fox, James 
Phillips, and Tench Coxe as sureties for its "true, faithful, perfect, and 
diligent performance," and also the following endorsement on the back 
of the same : 

"The Governor, being satisfied, from three several reports of John 
Fleming, Esquire, (the two first dated on the i6th of December, 1801, 

143 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

& the loth of January, 1803, respectively; <\: the last without date, but 
delivered into the Secretary's Office in the month of January last,) that 
Samuel Miles tSc Roger Alden, Esquires, have completed their contract 
for opening a road from near the Bald Eagle's Nest to Le Bceuff, by 
opening & improving the same agreeably to the terms of said contract, 
as far as could reasonably be expected from the situation and nature of 
the country through which said road passes, & the public consideration 
given therefore, this day directed a quietus to be entered upon the 
contract. 

(Signed) " T. M. Thompson, ^^^. 

"April the 2nd, 1804." 

"To HIS Excellency Thomas McKean, Esquire, Governor of the 
State of Pennsylvania : 

" Sir, — In pursuance of your Excellency's letter appointing me a Com- 
missioner to view and report on that part of the State Road from Miles- 
burg to Le Boeufif, which was undertaken to be opened by Col. Samuel 
Miles, I proceeded to Milesburg and viewed the said Road as shewn to 
me by Mr. Richard INIiles, and beg leave to submit the following Report : 

''Beginning at Milesburg the road crosses Bald Eagle creek, over 
which is a sufficient wooden Bridge, thence up the said creek on the 
north side of it for five miles ; the road passable for waggons. Within 
these five miles, on the west side of Wallis's run, there is some wet ground 
a little swampy. 

" Leaving the Bald Eagle creek and thence to the foot of the Alle- 
gheny mountain, five miles, the Road is good excepting some trees that 
have fallen across it since it was opened. 

Across the mountain is three miles. The ascent is one mile, of which 
240 perches are dug, in some places, nine feet wide. Towards the top it 
is too steep for carriages. The descent of the mountain is about two 
miles and gradual. 

" About one mile from the foot of the mountain is a small run diffi- 
cult to pass. 

" Here I must bag leave to remark, as applicable to this as well as to 
other small runs that may be mentioned in this Report, that many very 
small streams in the country over which this road passes run in narrow 
channels, the bottoms of which lie from one to three feet below the sur- 
face of the earth. A footman can step over many of them, where, from 
the nature of the soil at the bottom, a horse is in great danger of being 
mired. 

"After crossing the last-mentioned run there is a hill of which in 
ascent there are thirty perches, and in descent twelve perches not pas- 
sable for waggons for want of digging. Near this are two small runs, both 
difficult to pass. 

144 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"To Phillipsburg from thence, a distance of more than eight miles, 
the Road is good, excepting some very swampy ground on the east of 
what is called the five mile run, and some miry ground at Coldstream, 
one mile from Phillipsburg. Some more work is necessary on the hill 
west of the five mile run. The whole distance from Milesburg to Phil- 
lipsburg is twenty-six miles. 

"Passing Phillipsburg one mile is Moshannon creek. It is not 
bridged nor is it fordable at the place where the Road crosses it at any 
season. There is some timber prepared at the place for a bridge. It is 
about six perches wide with steep banks. There is a Fording about half 
a mile below. Three miles further the road is good excepting a few wet 
places. Within two miles further there are two runs, the banks of which 
are dug, and the road is good. 

" Thence to Clearfield creek, four miles, some digging done in two 
places, and on the hill descending to Clearfield forty perches are well 
dug ; the road is good. 

" Thence to the Susquehanna river, five miles, the road good. The 
breadth of the river is twelve perches. 

"Thence to Anderson's creek, nearly three miles, some digging done 
on Hogback hill. The road in general good. 

" Thence to a branch of Anderson's creek, about eight miles, several 
places dug and some bridges made : the road is tolerably good. More 
digging and bridging wanted. 

"Thence to the waters of Stump creek, about three miles, several 
bridges made and digging done in some places ; the road good. 

"Thence five miles, crossing two ridges on each of which there is 
digging done, and several runs, two of which are bridged. In the latter 
part of these five miles are two runs necessary to be bridged. With this 
exception the road is tolerably good. 

" Thence to a branch of Sandy Lick creek, about six miles, in several 
places the road is dug and some bridges made. The road tolerably good. 

"Thence about three miles; several steep banks, deep runs and wet 
places ; road not passable. 

" Thence to the end of Col. Miles' opening is four miles. The road 
good. 

" From Milesburg until the road crosses the Susquehanna the road is 
opened from sixteen to twenty feet wide, and from thence to the end it is 
opened from twelve to sixteen feet wide. The whole length of the road 
opened as aforesaid by Col. Miles is seventy-four miles and eighty-six 
perches. 

(Signed) " Jno. Fleming. 

" Decemlier i6th, iSoi." 

Only the commonest goods were hauled into this county from Phila- 
delphia over the old State Road. The freightage from Philadelphia to 

145 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Port Barnett was about six dollars per one hundred pounds, and it took 
four weeks to come from Philadelphia. In iSoo wheat brought one dollar 
and a half a bushel, wheat flour four and five dollars per one hundred 
pounds, corn one dollar per bushel, oats seventy-five cents, potatoes 
sixty-five cents. Tobacco was sold by the yard at four cents per yard, 
common sugar thirty-three cents, and loaf (white sugar) fifty cents per 
pound. A hunter's rifle cost twenty-five dollars, a yoke of oxen eighty 
dollars, boots from one to three dollars, a pair of moccasins about three 
or four shillings. 

S. B. Rowe, in his "Pioneer History of Clearfield County," says, 
"The State, in order to connect the western frontier with the eastern 
settlements, had laid out several roads, among others one leading from 
Milesburg to Erie. This road was opened in the year 1803. It crossed 
the Susquehanna River near the residence of Benjamin Jordan. 

"The Milesburg and Le BoeufiF road became subsequently an impor- 
tant and leading thoroughfare. It was a road of the worst kind, laid out 
with very little skill, and made with a great deal of dishonesty. It had 
but one bridge — at Moshannon — between Bellefonte and Anderson's 
Creek, and to avoid digging the hill-side, Anderson's Creek was crossed 
three times in less than two miles. Large quantities of merchandise 
passed over it, principally upon pack-horses, companies of which, ex- 
ceeding a score in number, might often be seen traversing it. Until the 
place of this road was supplied by an artificial road, located on or near its 
bed, it was the principal road leading to Erie and the great West. About 
the time the State Road was supplanted by the turnpike the now almost 
forgotten Conestoga wagon, with its heavy horses, walking leisurely along, 
their tread measured by the jingling of bells, afforded cheaper and better 
mode of transportation for goods. A trip to Philadelphia to purchase 
goods or to ' see the sights' of that village was then quite an undertaking, 
and called for weeks of preparation." 



"To HIS Excellency Thomas McKean, Esquire, Governor of the Com- 
momoealth of Pennsylvania : 

" Agreeably to your Instructions received through the Secretary of 
the Commonwealth, I proceeded to review that part of the road leading 
from Milesburg to Le Bceuff, opened by Major Roger Alden, and beg 
leave to submit the following report : 

" Beginning at the west end of Col. Samuel Miles' opening, 

" 2 miles, a hill with some digging ; the road good. 

" ij4 miles to the crossing of the north branch of Sandy Lick creek. 
The road good. 

"9m farther. The road good. 

" 4 m of rough road. There is in this distance four streams of water 

146 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

crossing it, with bad hills on each side of each of them. They are gen- 
erally all dug that carriages may pass. 

"4m farther to Toby's creek : some digging done on the descent of 
the hill going down to the creek — the road tolerably good. 

"2 m farther to the hill descending to Little Toby's creek. The 
road good. When I reported before, this descent to the creek was im- 
passable with waggons; since that time the road has been changed, and 
laid on better ground, and the road dug. The road good. West of the 
creek the road is somewhat difficult for carriages. 

"4 m. The road passable for carriages. 

" I m. A hill descending to Licking creek, bad, as is also the hill 
on the west side of the creek. There is some digging done here. These 
hills comprehend a distance exceeding a mile. 

" 10 m. Road good, lying on chestnut ridges. In this distance there 
is little difference in the road. 

''4 m to the Allegheny river, lying over pine ridges, some of them 
steep. The hill to the river near a mile long. Since my last report 
some bridging and digging has been done. Passable for carriages. 

''6 m from the crossing of the Allegheny river to Pi thole creek. The 
road crosses several ridges, one of which is dug. 

"2m of good road. 

"2 m of very swampy ground, principally bridged and causewayed. 
Passable with carriages. 

"3 m to the crossing of the south-east branch of Oil creek There 
are several bridges made in this distance. There is a good one across the 
creek. The road good. 

"7m to the crossing of the N. W. branch of Oil creek. There are 
several bridges made in this distance. Since my last report the fording 
of the creek is changed for the better. 

" I m. West of the creek for near a mile the road is altered, making 
the ascent of the hills that I noticed easier. They are still difficult for 
carriages. 

'' 7 m to where this road intersects the public road from Pittsburg to 
Le Bceuff by the way of Franklin. In this distance the road in general 
is good. A number of bridges are made on it. 

^' 3 m to the crossing of Muddy creek — several bridges made. The 
road something wet. 

''12 m to the crossing of French creek — a number of bridges made. 

" 3 m to Le Bceufif — a number of bridges made, and the road good. 
From the intersection of the Franklin road to Le Bceuff the soil is gen- 
erally wet. 

" I would generally observe that a considerable quantity of timber is 
fallen across the road, and the sprouts in such quantities grown up in 
many places, since the road was opened, as to render travelling difficult, 

147 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

There has not been any cutting done since I reported, unless where the 
road is changed in the two places before mentioned. 
" I am Sir, 

'' Your Excellency's very humble servant, 

"John Fleming." 

"An Act iniaking Appropriation for Certain Internal Improve- 
ments. 

"Section 14. And be it fitrtJier enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars be, and the same is hereby 
appropriated to be paid to John Li tie and James Weston, for improving 
the following roads in the county of Erie : to wit, two hundred and 
twenty-five dollars for the State Road from Milesburgh to Waterford, etc. 

" Section 17. That the sum of five hundred dollars be, and the same 
is hereby appropriated to be paid to the commissioners of Venango 
County for improving the following roads : viz., . . . and two hundred 
and fifty dollars for the State Road from Waterford to Milesburgh, where 
it passes through the county of Venango, and crosses the Allegheny River 
at the ferry of Eli Holeman. 

"Section 20. That the sum of seven hundred dollars be, and the 
same is hereby appropriated to be paid to the commissioners of Indiana 
County for improving the State Road from Milesburgh to Waterford, where 
it passes through the county of Jefferson, between the counties of Clear- 
field and Armstrong ; and that the further sum of seven hundred dollars 
be, and the same is hereby appropriated to be paid to the commissioners 
of Armstrong County ; three hundred dollars thereof for improving that 
part of the Milesburgh and Waterford road which passes through the 
County of Armstrong, etc. 

" Section 22. That the sum of seven hundred dollars be, and the same 
is hereby appropriated to be paid to the commissioners of Centre County 
for improving the roads in Clearfield County, as follows: viz., . . . four 
hundred dollars for the road from Milesburgh to Waterford between the 
west branch of the Susquehanna River and the line between the counties 
of Clearfield and Jefferson, and one hundred dollars for the said road 
from Clearfield Creek to the line of Centre County. 

" Section 29. That it shall be the duty of the county commissioners, 
and trustees, and the commissioners appointed by this act, to whom the 
sums hereby appropriated are to be paid respectively, to advertise that 
proposals will be received at a certain time and place, to be by them fixed, 
for making the improvements in this act specified, and shall contract 
with such person or persons as will in their judgment secure the most 
advantageous expenditure of the several sums herein appropriated ; and 
they shall furnish to the auditors of their several counties a detailed 
statement of the manner in which the said monies shall have been ex- 

148 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

pended ; and the county commissioners, and trustees, and commissioners 
appointed by this act, as soon as their accounts shall have been settled 
and adjusted, shall transmit a certified copy of the detailed statement 
aforesaid to the auditor-general, together with the vouchers, which ac- 
counts shall be settled by the accountant department in the usual manner. 

"Section 30. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. 
That at any time after the first day of August next, the State treasurer be, 
and he is hereby authorized and directed to pay to the county commis- 
sioners, and trustees, and commissioners appointed by this act, on their 
producing satisfactory evidence that the several contracts have been made, 
and the necessary securities for the faithful application of the monies 
taken, and the work actually commenced, the several sums hereby appro- 
priated out of any monies in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

' ' Approved — the second day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
and eleven. 

" SniON Snyder." 

The road was opened and finished to Holeman's Ferry, on the Alle- 
gheny River, in 1S04. This point is now in Forest County. There was 
no provision made to complete the road from there to Waterford by the 
Legislature until 1810. At that time Clarion County was not organized, 
and the part of the State Road that now lies in Clarion County was then 
in Venango County. As near as can be learned, the following contracts 
were let for work on the road in the year 181 1 : 

" Wm. Hays contracted to dig a part of said road on the north side 
of ' Three Mile Run at 40 cts. per perch.' 

" Isaac Connelly contracted to dig a part of said road on the north 
side of ' Hemlock Creek at 50 cts. per perch.' 

"William Hays contracted to dig and open a part of said road on 
the south side of ' Hemlock Creek at 40 cts. a perch.' 

"Samuel and Alexander McHatten agree to open and bridge a part 
of the said road near Hicks cabin at eight dollars. 

" Charles Holman contracted to open and dig a part of said road for 
66 cts. per perch for digging, and a reasonable prize for any part which 
may be opened. 

" Samuel and Alexander McHatten contracted to dig and open a part 
of said road at 57 cts. a perch on the north side of Little Toby's Creek. 

"Alexander McElhaney contracted to bridge a part of said road, 
supposed to be 26 rods, at 99 cts. per perch, and to open and repair at a 
reasonable price. 

" Samuel and Alex McHatten agree to dig and open a part of said 
road on Toby's Creek Hill at twenty-four and a half cents per perch." 

In Brookville the State Road came up the hill between Mrs. Show- 
alter's and the Lutheran church, turned to the right and over what is now 
an alley between Dr. McKnight and Robert Darrah. 

149 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER X. 

PIONEER AGRICULTURE — HOW THE FARMERS IN THE OLDEN TIME HAD TO 
MAKE SHIFT THE PIONEER HOMES PIONEER FOOD PIONEER EVEN- 
ING FROLICS TREES, SNAKES, AND REPTILES SOLDIERS OF l8l2 

PIONEER LEGAL RELATIONS OF MAN AND WIFE EARLY AND PIONEER 

MUSIC — LIST OF TAXABLE INHABITANTS IN 1820 THE TRANSPORTA- 
TION OF IRON — THE FIRST SCREW FACTORY POPULATION OF THE 

STATE AND OF THE UNITED STATES. 

For convenience in description I may here state that the soil of Jef- 
ferson County was covered in sections with two different growths of tim- 
ber, — viz., sections of oak and other hard-wood timber, with underbrush 
and sapHngs. Some of these sections were called the barrens. The 
other sections were covered with a dense and heavy growth of pine, 
hemlock, poplar, cucumber, bass, ash, sugar, and beech, with saplings, 
down timber, and underbrush in great profusion. The mode of clearing 
in these different sections was not the same. In the first-mentioned or 
sparsely covered section the preliminary work was grubbing. The saplings 
and underbrush had to be grubbed up and out with a mattock and piled 
in brush-piles. One man could usually grub an acre in four days, or you 
could let this at a job for two dollars per acre and board. The standing 
timber then was usually girdled or deadened, and allowed to fall down in 
the crops from year to year, to be chopped and rolled in heaps every spring. 
In the dense or heavy growth timber the preliminary work was underbrush- 
ing, cutting the saplings close to the ground, piling the brush or not, as 
the necessity of the case seemed to require. The second step was the 
cutting of all down timber into lengths of ten or fifteen feet. After this 
came the cutting of all standing timber, which, too, had to be brushed 
and cut into twelve- or fifteen-foot lengths. This latter work was always 
a winter's job for the farmer, and the buds on these falling trees made 
excellent browsing feed for his cattle. In the spring-time, after the brush 
had become thoroughly dry, and in a dry time, a good burn of the brush, 
if possible, was obtained. The next part of the process was logging, 
usually after harvest. This required the labor of five men and a team of 
oxen, — one driver for the oxen and two men at each end of the log-heap. 
Neighbors would " morrow" with each other, and on such occasions each 
neighbor usually brought his own handspike. This was a round pole, 
usually made of beech-, dog-, or ironwood, without any iron on or in it, 
about six feet long, and sharpened at the large end. Logs were rolled on 
the pile over skids. Sometimes the cattle were made to draw or roll the 
logs on the heap. These piles were then burned, and the soil was ready 

150 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

for the drag or the triangular harrow. I have looked like a negro many 
a time while working at this logging. Then money was scarce, labor 
plenty and cheap, and amusements few, hence grubbing, chopping, and 
logging "frolics" were frequent and popular. For each frolic one or 
more two-gallon jugs of whiskey were indispensable. A jolly good time 
was had, as well as a good dinner and supper, and every one in the 
neighborhood expected an invitation. 

As there was a fence law then, the ground had to be fenced, accord- 
ing to this law, "horse- high, bull-strong, and hog-tight." The effort 
made by the pioneer to obey this law was in four ways, — viz. : First, by 
slashing trees and placing brush upon the trees ; second, by using the 
logs from the clearing for the purpose of a fence ; third, by a post- and 
rail-fence, built straight, and the end of each rail sharpened and fastened 
in a mortised post ; fourth, by the common rail- or worm-fence. These 
rails were made of ash, hickory, chesnut, linn, and pine. The usual price 
for making rails per hundred was fifty cents with board. I have made 
them by contract at that price myself. 

" I seem to see the low rail-fence, 

That worming onward mile on mile. 
Was redolent with pungent scents 

Of sassafras and camomile. 
Within a fence-rail tall and bare, 
The saucy bluebird nested there ; 
'Twas there the largest berries grew, 
As every barefoot urchin knew ! 
And swiftly, shyly creeping through 

The tangled vine and the braml^le dense, 
The mingled sunshine and the dew, 

The Bob- White perched atop the fence; 
And, flinging toil and care away, 
He piped and lilted all the day." 

In 1799, when Joseph Hutchison lived here, wheat sold in this sec- 
tion of the State for two dollars and fifty cents per bushel, flour for eighteen 
dollars per barrel, corn two dollars, oats one dollar and fifty cents, and 
potatoes one dollar and fifty cents per bushel. 

The early axes were called pole-axes. They were rude, clumsy, and 
heavy, with a single bit. About 1815 an improved Yankee single-bit 
axe was introduced, but it, too*, was heavy and clumsy. In about 1825 
the present double-bitted axe came to be occasionally used. 

I have never seen the wooden plough, but I have seen them with the 
iron shoe point and coulter. These were still in use in the late twenties. 
I have driven an ox-team to the drag or triangular harrow. This was the 
principal implement used in seeding ground, both before and after the 
introduction of the shovel-plough in 1843. 

151 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"The greatest improvement ever made on ploughs, in this or any 
other country, was made by Charles Newbold, of Burlington, New Jersey, 
and patented in 1797. The mould-board, share, landside, and point were 
all cast together in one solid piece. The plough was all cast iron except 
the beam and handles. The importance of this invention was so great 
that it attracted the attention of plough-makers and scientific men all 
over the country. Thomas Jefferson (afterwards President of the United 
States) wrote a treatise on ploughs, with a particular reference to the 
Newbold plough. He described the requisite form of the mould-board, 
according to scientific principles, and calculated the proper form and cur- 
vature of the mould-board to lessen the friction and lighten the draught. 

"The Newbold plough would have been nearly perfect had it not 
been for one serious defect. When the point, for instance, was worn out, 
which would soon be accomplished, the plough was ruined and had to 
be thrown aside. This defect, however, was happily remedied by Jethro 
Wood, who was the first to cast the plough in sections, so that the parts 
most exposed to wear could be replaced from the same pattern, by which 
means the cast-iron plough became a complete success. His plough was 
patented in 1819, twenty-two years after Newbold's patent. It is a won- 
der that so long a time should have elapsed before any one thought of 
this improvement. These two men did more for the farmers in relation 
to ploughs than any others before their time or since." 

In harvest-time the grain was first reaped with a sickle ; then came 
the cradle. In my boyhood all the lying grain thrown down by storms 
was still reaped with a sickle. I carry the evidence of this on my fingers. 
Grain was usually thrashed by a flail, though some tramped it out with 
horses. By the flail ten bushels of wheat or twenty bushels of oats was 
a good day's work. Men who travelled around thrashing on shares with 
the flail charged every tenth bushel, including board. The tramping 
was done by horses and by farmers who had good or extra barn floors. 
The sheaves were laid in a circle, a man stood in the middle of the circle 
to turn up and over the straw as needed, and then, with a boy to ride 
one horse and lead another, the " tramping" in this circuit commenced. 
This was hard work for the boy ; it made him tired and sore loherr he sat 
down. To prevent dizziness, the travel on the circuit was frequently re- 
versed. One man, a boy, and two horses could tramp out in this way 
in a day about fifteen bushels of wheat or thirty-five bushels of oats. 
Grain was cleaned by means of two hand-riddles, one coarse and one fine. 
These riddles had no iron or steel about them, the bottom of each being 
made of wooden splints woven in. The riddles were two and one- half 
feet in diameter and the rings about four inches wide. Three men were 
recjuired to clean the grain, — one to shake the riddle, while two others, 
one at each end of a tow sheet, doubled, swayed the sheet to and fro in 
front of the man shaking the riddle. These three men in this way could 

152 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

clean about ten or fifteen bushels of wheat in a day. This process was 
practised in the twenties. Windmills came into use about 1825. For 
many years there were extremely few wagons and but poor roads on 
which to use them. The early vehicles were the prongs of a tree, a sled 
made of saplings, called a " pung," and ox- carts. In fact, about all the 
work was done with oxen, and in driving his cattle the old settler would 
halloo with all his might and swear profusely. This profanity and hal- 
looing was thought to be necessary. The pioneer sled was made with 
heavy single runners, the " bob" -sled being a later innovation. 

"HAYING IN THE OLDEN TIME. 

" Haying in the old days was a much more formidable yearly under- 
taking than it is to modern farmers. Before the era of labor-saving 
haying implements farmers began the work of haying early in the day 
and season, and toiled hard until both were far spent. Human muscle 
was strained to exert a force equal to the then unused horse-power. On 
large farms many ' hands' were required. Haying was an event of im- 
portance in the farmer's year. It made great demands upon his time, 
strength, and pocket-book. His best helpers were engaged long in ad- 
vance, sometimes a whole season. Ability to handle a scythe well enti- 
tled a man to respect while haying lasted. Experts took as much pains 
with a scythe as with a razor. Boys of to-day have never seen such a 
sight as a dozen stalwart men mowing a dozen-acre field. 

" On the first day of haying, almost before the sun was up, the men 
would be at the field ready to begin. The question to be settled at the 
very outset was as to which man should cut the ' double.' This was the 
first swath to be cut down and back through the centre of the field. 

" The boys brought up the rear in the line of mowers. Their scythes 
were hung well 'in,' to cut a narrow swath. They were told to stand 
up straight when mowing, point in, keep the heel of the scythe down, 
and point out evenly, so as not to leave ' hog-troughs' on the meadow 
when the hay was raked up. Impatient of these admonitions, they 
thought they could mow pretty well, and looked ambitiously forward to 
a time when they might cut the ' double.' " 

DRESS OF MEN. 

Moccasin shoes, buckskin breeches, blue broadcloth coats and brass 
buttons, fawn-skin vests, roundabouts, and woollen warmuses, leather or 
woollen gallowses, coon- or seal-skin caps in winter with chip or oat-straw 
hats for summer. Every neighborhood had then usually one itinerant 
shoemaker and tailor, who periodically visited cabins and made up shoes 
or clothes as required. All material had to be furnished, and these itin- 
erant mechanics worked for fifty cents a day and board. Corduroy pants 
and corduroy overalls were common. 
II 153 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The warmuses, breeches, and hunting-shirts of the men, the linsey 

petticoats, dresses, and bed-gowns of the women, were all hung in some 

corner of the cabin on wooden pegs. To some extent this was a display 

of pioneer wealth. 

DRESS OF WOMEN. 

Home made woollen cloth, tow, linen, linsey-woolsey, etc. I have 
seen "barefoot girls with cheek of tan" walk three or four miles to 
church, when, on nearing the church, they would step into the woods to 
put on a pair of shoes they carried with them. I could name some of 
these who are living to-day. A woman who could buy eight or ten yards 
of calico for a dress at a dollar a yard put on queenly airs. Every married 
woman of any refinement then wore day-caps and night-caps. The 
bonnets were beaver, gimp, leghorn, and sun-bonnets. For shoes, women 
usually went barefoot in the summer, and in the winter covered their feet 
with moccasins, calf-skin shoes, buffalo overshoes, and shoe-packs. 

Linen and tow cloth were made from flax. The seed was sown in the 
early spring and ripened about August. It was harvested by "pulling." 
This was generally done by a "pulling frolic" of young people pulling 
it out by the root. It was then tied in little sheaves and permitted to 
dry, hauled in, and thrashed for the seed. Then the straw was watered 
and rotted by laying it on the ground out of doors. Then the straw was 
again dried and " broken in the flax-break," after which it was again tied 
up in little bundles and then scutched with a wooden knife. This scutch- 
ing was a frolic job too, and a dirty one. Then it was hackled. This 
hackling process separated the linen part from the tow. The rest of the 
process consisted of spinning, weaving, and dyeing. Linen cloth sold for 
about twenty-four cents a yard, tow cloth for about twenty cents a yard. 

In the State Constitutional Convention of 1837 to amend the con- 
stitution I find the occupation of the members elected to that body to be 
as follows, — viz. : Farmers, 51 ; iron-masters, 3 ; manufacturer, i ; me- 
chanics, 2 ; house-carpenters, 2 ; brick-maker, i ; paper-maker, i ; 
printers, 2; potter, i ; judge, i ; attorneys, 41 ; doctors, 12; editor, i ; 
merchants, 9; surveyors, 4; clerks, 4; total membership, 136. From 
this it will be seen that farmers received proper recognition in the earlier 
elections. 

THE PIONEER HOMES OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 

" This is the land our fathers loved, 

The homestead which they toiled to win. 
This is the ground whereon they moved, 
And here are the graves they slumher in." 

The home of the pioneer in Jefferson County was a log cabin, one 
story high, chinked and daubed, having a fireplace in one end, with a 
chimney built of sticks and mud, and in one corner always stood a big 

154 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

wooden poker to turn back-logs or punch the fire. These cabins were 
usually small, but some were perhaps twenty by thirty feet, with a hole 
cut in two logs for a single window, — oiled paper being used for glass. 



■tn 



^ s 





' .^^ 


i 


^ 


^ 


^. _ 


1 




-^ 


■ X 


-.- ^ 


^ .1 


;^ 









'% 



For Brussels carpet they had puncheon floors, and a clapboard roof held 
down by weight poles to protect them from the storm. Wooden pegs 
were driven in the logs for the wardrobe, the rifle, and the powder-horn. 
Wooden benches and stools were a luxury upon which to rest or sit while 
feasting on mush and milk, buckwheat cakes, hog and hominy. 

155 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Hospitality in this log cabin was simple, hearty, and unbounded. 
Whiskey was pure, cheap, and plenty, and was lavished bountifully on 
each and all social occasions. Every settler had his jug or barrel. It 
was the drink of drinks at all merry-makings, grubbings, loggings, chop- 
pings, house-warmings, and weddings. A drink of whiskey was always 
proffered to the visitor or traveller who chanced to call or spend a night 
in these log cabins. 

Puncheon boards or planks were made from a log of straight grain 
and clear of knots, and of the proper length, which was split into parts 




Cabin barn. 

and the face of each part smoothed with a broadaxe. The split parts 
had to be all started at the same time, with wedges at the end of the 
log, each wedge being struck alternately with a maul until all the parts 
were separated. 

The furniture for the table of the pioneer log cabins consisted of 
pewter dishes, plates, and spoons, or wooden bowls, plates, and noggins. 
If noggins were scarce, gourds and hard-shelled squashes answered for 
drinking-cups. 

The iron pots, knives and forks, along with the salt and iron, were 

156 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

brought to the wilderness on pack-horses over Meade's trail or over the 
Milesburg and Le Boeuf State road. 

Some of these log cabins near Brookville were still occupied in the 
forties. I have been in many of them in my childhood. In proof of the 
smallness of the early cabin I reproduce the testimony on oath of Thomas 
Lucas, Esq., in the following celebrated ejectment case, — viz. : 

"EJECTMENT. 

" In the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County. Ejectment for 
sixteen hundred acres of land in Pine Creek township. Elijah Heath vs. 
Joshua Knap, ef al. 

" i6th September, 1 841, a jury was called /d'r w/«,?/j-. The plaintiff 
after having opened his case in support of the issue, gave in evidence as 
follows : 

" Thomas Lucas. — Masons have in the surveys about twelve acres of 
land, a cabin house, and stable thereon. They live near the line of the 
town tract, the town tract takes in the apple-trees \ think they claim on 
some improvement. Some of this improvement I think is thirty-five 
years old, — this was the Mason claim. The first improvement was made 
in 1S02 ; I call it the Pickering survey, only an interference. Jacob Mason 
has been living off and on since 1802, — two small cabin houses on the 
interference, one fifteen or sixteen feet square, the other very small, 
twelve or fifteen feet, — a log stable." 

At this time and before it many of these cabins were lighted by 
means of a half window, — viz., one window-sash, containing from four to 
six panes of seven by nine glass. Up to and even at this date (1841) the 
usual light at night in these cabins was the old iron lamp, something like 
the miner wears in his hat, or else a dish containing refuse grease, with 
a rag in it. Each smoked and gave a dismal light, yet women cooked, 
spun, and sewed and men read the {q.\v books they had as best they could. 
The aroma from this refuse grease was simply horrible. The cabin was 
daily swept with a split broom made of hickory. The hinges and latches 
of these cabins were made of wood. The latch on the door was raised from 
without by means of a buckskin string. At night, as a means of safety, 
the string was " pulled in," and this locked the door. As a further mark 
of refinement each cabin was generally guarded by from two to six 
worthless dogs. 

Of pests in and around the old cabin, the house-fly, the bed-bug, and 
the louse were the most common on the inside ; the gnat, the wood-tick, 
and the horse-fly on the outside. It was a constant fight for life with 
man, cattle, and horses against the gnat, the tick, and the horse-fly, and 
if it had not been for the protection of what were called " gnat-fires," 
life could not have been sustained, or at least it would have been unen- 
durable. The only thing to dispel these outside pests was to clear land 

157 



PIONEER HIST('>RV OF JEFP^ERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and let in the sunshine. As an all-around pest in the cabin and out, day 
and night, there was the flea. 

PIONEER FOOD— WHAT THE PIONEER COULD HAVE, OR DID 

HAVE, TO EAT. 

Buckwheat cakes, mush, and souens, corn-mush and milk, rye-mush 
and bread, liominy, potatoes, turnips, wild onions or wramps, wild 
meats, wild birds, fish, and wild fruits. 

In the early cooking everything was boiled and baked ; this was 
healthy. There was no "rare fad," with its injurious results. The 
common dishes served were wheat- and rye bread, wheat- and rye-mush, 
corn-pone, cakes, and mush, sweet and buttermilk boiled and thickened, 
doughnuts, and baked pot-pies. Soda was made by burning corn- cobs. 

Buckwheat souens was a great pioneer dish. It was made in this 
Avise : Mix your buckwheat flour and water in the morning ; add to this 
enough yeast to make the batter light ; then let it stand until evening, or 
until the batter is real sour. Now stir this batter into boiling water and 
boil until it is thoroughly cooked, like corn mush. Eat hot or cold with 
milk or cream. 

MEATS. 

Hogs, bears, elks, deer, rabbits, squirrels, and woodchucks. 

The saddles or hams of the deer were salted by the pioneer, then 
smoked and dried. This was a great luxury, and could be kept all the 
year through. 

The late Dr. Clarke wrote, " Wild game, such as elks, deer, bears, 
turkeys, and partridges, were numerous, and for many years constituted 
an important part of the animal food of the early settlers in this wilder- 
ness. Wolves and panthers came in for a share of this game, until they, 
too, became game for the hunters by the public and legal offer of boun- 
ties to be paid for their scalps, or rather for their ears, for a perfect pair 
of ears was required to secure the bounty. All these have become nearly 
extinct. The sturdy elk no longer roves over the hills or sips ' salty 
sweetness' from the licks. The peculiar voice of the stately strutting 
wild turkey is heard no more. The howl of the wolf and the panther's 
cry no longer alarm the traveller as he winds his way over the hills or 
through the valleys, and the flocks are now permitted to rest in peace. 
Even the wild deer is now seldom seen, and a nice venison steak rarely 
gives its delicious aroma among the shining plate of modern well-set 
tables." 

FISH. 

Pike, bass, catfish, suckers, sunfish, horn-chubs, mountain trout, and 
eels. 

The old settler shot, seined, hooked with a line, and gigged his fish. 
Gigging was done at night by means of a light made from burning fagots 

15S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of pitch-pine. It usually required three to do this gigging, whether 
" wading" or in a canoe, — one to carry the light ahead, one to gig, and 
one to care for the fish. 

lilRDS. 

Pheasants were plentiful, and enlivened the forests with their drum- 
ming. The waters and woods were full of wild ducks, geese, pigeons, 
and turkeys. 

The most remarkable bird in America was the wild turkey. It is 
the original turkey, and is the stock from which the tame turkeys sprung. 
In the wild state it was to be found in the wooded lands east of the 
Rocky Mountains. In pioneer times it was called gobbler or Bubly 
Jock by the whites, and Oo-coo-coo by the Indians. Our pioneer 
hunters could mimic or imitate the gobbling of a turkey, and this decep- 
tive ruse was greatly practised to excite the curiosity and bring the bird 
within shooting distance. The last wild turkey in our county was killed 
in the seventies near the town of False Creek. 

To obtain a turkey roast when needed, the pioneer sometimes built in 
the woods a pen of round logs and covered it with brush. Whole flocks 
of turkeys were sometimes caught in these pens, built in this wise : 

" First, a narrow ditch, about six feet long and two feet deep, was 
dug. Over this trench the pen was built, leaving a few feet of the chan- 
nel outside of the enclosure. The end of the part of the trench enclosed 
was usually about the middle of the pen. Over the ditch, near the wall 
of the pen, boards were laid. The pen was made tight enough to hold 
a turkey and covered with poles. Then corn was scattered about on the 
inside, and the ditch outside baited with the same grain. Sometimes 
straw was also scattered about in the pen. Then the trap was ready for its 
victims. The turkeys came to the pen, began to pick up the corn, and 
followed the trench within. When they had eaten enough, the birds 
tried to get out by walking around the pen, looking up all the time. 
They would cross the ditch on the boards, and never think of going to 
the opening in the ground at the centre of the pen. When the hunter 
found his game he had only to crawl into the pen through the trench and 
kill the birds." 

In the fall turkeys became very fat, and gobblers were sometimes 
captured for Christmas in this way weighing over twenty pounds. 

FRUITS. 

Apples, crab-apples, wild, red, and yellow plums, blackberries, 
huckleberries, elderberries, wild strawberries, choke-cherries, and wild 
gooseberries. 

SWEETS. 

Domestic and wild honey, maple-sugar, maple-molasses, and corn-cob 
molasses. Bee-trees were numerous, and would frequently yield from 

159 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

eight to twelve gallons of excellent honey. These trees had to be cut in 
the night by the light of pitch-pine fagots. 

DRINK. 

Metheglin, a drink made from honey ; whiskey, small beer, rye 
coffee, buttermilk, and fern, sassafras, sage, and mint teas. 

To fully illustrate the pioneer days I quote from the " History of 
Crawford County, Pennsylvania," — viz. : 

" The habits of the pioneers were of a simplicity and purity in con- 
formance to their surroundings and belongings. The men were engaged 
in the herculean labor, day after day, of enlarging the little patch of sun- 
shine about their homes, cutting away the forest, burning off the brush 
and debris, preparing the soil, planting, tending, harvesting, caring for 
the few animals which they brought with them or soon procured, and in 
hunting. While they were engaged in the heavy labor of the field and 
forest, or following the deer, or seeking other game, their helpmeets were 
busied with their household duties, providing for the day and for the 
winter coming on, cooking, making clothes, spinning, and weaving. 
They were fitted by nature and experience to be the consorts of the 
brave men who first came into the western wilderness. They were heroic 
in their endurance of hardship and privation and loneliness. 

"Their industry was well directed and unceasing. Woman's work 
then, like man's, was performed under disadvantages, which have been 
removed in later years. She had not only the common household duties 
to perform, but many others. She not only made the clothing, but the 
fabric for it. That old, old occupation of spinning and of weaving, 
with which woman's name has been associated in all history, and of which 
the modern world knows nothing, except through the stories of those 
who are great-grandmothers now,— that old occupation of spinning and 
weaving which seems surrounded with a glamour of romance as we look 
back to it through tradition and poetry, and which always conjures up 
thoughts of the graces and virtues of the dames and damsels of a genera- 
tion that is gone, — that old, old occupation of spinning and of weaving 
was the chief industry of the pioneer woman. Every cabin sounded with 
the softly whirring wheel and the rhythmic thud of the loom. The woman 
of pioneer times was like the woman described by Solomon : ' She seeketh 
wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands ; she layeth her 
hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.' 

"Almost every article of clothing, all of the cloth in use in the old 
log cabins, was the product of the patient woman-weaver's toil. She spun 
the flax and wove the cloth for shirts, pantaloons, frocks, sheets, and 
blankets. The linen and the wool, the ' linsey-woolsey' woven by the 
housewife, formed all of the material for the clothing of both men and 
women, except such articles as were made of skins. The men commonly 

1 60 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

wore the hunting-shirt, a kind of loose frock reaching half-way down the 
figure, open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more upon the 
chest. This generally had a cape, which was often fringed with a ravelled 
piece of cloth of a different color from that which composed the garment. 
The bosom of the hunting-shirt answered as a pouch, in which could be 
carried the various articles that the hunter or woodsman would need. It 
was alwa}s worn belted, and made out of coarse linen, or linsey, or of 
dressed deer-skin, according to the fancy of the wearer. Breeches were 
made of heavy cloth or of deer-skin, and were often worn with leggings 
of the same material or of some kind of leather, while the feet were most 
usually encased in moccasins, which were easily and quickly made, though 
they needed frequent mending. The deer- skin breeches or drawers were 
very comfortable when dry, but when they became wet were very cold to 
the limbs, and the next time they were put on were almost as stiff as if 
made of wood. Hats or caps were made of the various native furs. The 
women were clothed in linsey petticoats, coarse shoes and stockings, and 
wore buckskin gloves or mittens when any protection was required for 
the hands. All of the wearing apparel, like that of the men, was made 
with a view to being serviceable and comfortable, and all was of home 
manufacture. Other articles and finer ones were sometimes worn, but 
they had been brought from former homes, and were usually relics 
handed down from parents to children. Jewelry was not common, but 
occasionally some ornament was displayed. In the cabins of the more 
cultivated pioneers were usually a few books, and the long winter even- 
ings were spent in poring over these well-thumbed volumes by the light 
of the great log-fire, in knitting, mending, curing furs, or some similar 
occupation. 

"As the settlement increased, the sense of loneliness and isolation 
was dispelled, the asperities of life were softened and its amenities multi- 
plied ; social gatherings became more numerous and more enjoyable. 
The log-rollings, harvestings, and husking-bees for the men, and apple- 
butter-making and the quilting-parties for the women, furnished frequent 
occasions for social intercourse. The early settlers took much pleasure 
and pride in rifle-shooting, and as they were accustomed to the use of 
the gun as a means often of obtaining a subsistence, and relied upon it as 
a weapon of defence, they exhibited considerable skill. 

"Foot-racing, wrestling, and jumping matches were common. The 
jumping matches consisted of the 'single jump,' backward jump, high 
jump, three jumps, and the running hop, step, and jump. 

" A wedding was the event of most importance in the sparsely settled 
new country. The young people had every inducement to marry, and 
generally did so as soon as able to provide for themselves. When a mar- 
riage was to be celebrated, all the neighborhood turned out. It was 
customary to have the ceremony performed before dinner, and in order 

i6i 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEEFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to be in time, the groom and his attendants usually started from his 
father's house in the morning for that of the bride. All went on horse- 
back, riding in single file along the narrow trail. Arriving at the cabin 
of the bride's parents, the ceremony would be performed, and after 
that dinner served. This would be a substantial backwoods feast, of 
beef, pork, fowls, and bear- or deer-meat, with such vegetables as could 
be procured. The greatest hilarity prevailed during the meal. After it 
was over, the dancing began, and was usually kept up till the next morn- 
ing, though the newly made husband and wife were, as a general thing, 
put to bed in the most approved fashion and with considerable formality 
in the middle of the evening's hilarity. The tall young men, when they 
went on the floor to dance, had to take their places with care between 
the logs that supported the loft-floor, or they were in danger of bumping 
their heads. The figures of the dances were three- and four-hand reels, 
or square sets and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, 
which was followed by 'jigging it off",' or what is sometiiiies called a 
'cut out jig.' The 'settlement' of a young couple was thought to be 
thoroughly and generously made when the neighbors assembled and raised 
a cabin for them." 

PIONEER EVENING FROLICS, SOCIAL PARTIES, PLAYS, AND AMUSE- 
MENTS—HOW THE PIONEER AND EARLY SETTLERS MADE THEIR 
LOG CABINS MERRY WITH SIMPLE, PRIMITIVE ENJOYMENTS. 

In the pioneer days newspapers were few, dear, printed on coarse 
paper, and small. Books were scarce, only occasional preaching, no 
public lectures, and but few public meetings, excepting the annual Fourth 
of July celebration, when all the patriots assembled to hear the Declara- 
tion of Independence read. The pioneer and his family had to have fun. 
The common saying of that day was that "all work and no play makes 
Jack a dull boy." As a rule, outside of the villages, everybody lived in 
log cabins, and were bound together by mutual dependence and acts of 
neighborly kindness. At every cabin the latch-string was always out. 
The young ladies of the " upper ten" learned music, but it was the hum- 
ming of to " knit and spin ;" their piano was a loom, their sunshade a 
broom,' and their novel a Bible. A young gentleman or lady was then 
as proud of his or her new suit, woven by a sister or a mother on her own 
loom, as proud could be, and these new suits or "best clothes" were 
always worn to evening frolics. Social parties among the young were 
called "kissing parties," because in all the plays, either as a penalty or 
as part of the play, all the girls who joined in the amusement had to be 
kissed by some one of the boys. The girls, of course, objected to the 
kissing, but then they were gentle, pretty, and witty, and the sweetest 
and best girls the world ever knew. This was true, for I attended these 
parties myself. To the boys and girls of that period — 

162 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The earth was like a garden then, 

And life seemed like a show, 
For the air was rife with fragrance, 

The sky was all rainbow, 
And the heart was warm and joyous ; 

Each lad had native grace, 
Sly Cupid planted blushes then 

On every virgin's face." 

The plays were nearly all musical and vocal, and the boys lived and 
played them in the "pleasures of hope," while usually there sat in the 
corner of the cabin fireplace a granddad or a grandma smoking a stone 
or clay pipe, lighted with a live coal from the wood-fire, living and 
smoking in the " pleasures of memory." 

The plays were conducted somewhat in this way : 

A popular play was for all the persons present to join hands and 
form a ring, with a dude of that time, in shirt of check and bear-greased 
hair, in the centre. Then they circled round and round the centre 
person, singing, — 

" King William was King James's son, 
And of that royal race he sprung; 
He wore a star upon his breast, 
To show that he was royal best. 
Go choose your east, go choose your^west. 
Go choose the one that you like best ; 
If he's not here to take your part. 
Go choose another with all your heart." 

The gentleman in the centre then chose a lady from the circle, and she 
stepped into the ring with him. Then the circling was resumed, and all 
sang to the parties inside, — 

" Down on this carpet you must kneel. 
Just as the grass grows in the field ; 
Salute your bride with kisses sweet. 
And then rise up upon your feet." 

The play went on in this manner until all the girls present were 
kissed. 

Another popular play was to form a ring. A young lady would step 
into the circle, and all parties would join hands and sing, — 

" There's a lily in the garden 
For you, young man ; 
There's a lily in the garden, 
Go pluck it if you can," etc. 

The lady then selects a boy from the circle, who walks into the ring 
with her. He then kisses her and she goes out, when the rest all sing, — 

i6.^ 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" There he stands, that great big booby, 
Who he is I do not know ; 
Who will take him for his beauty ? 
Let her answer, yes or no." 

This play goes on in this way until all the girls have been kissed. 
Another favorite play was : 

" Oats, peas, beans, and barley grows; 
None so well as the farmer knows 
How oats, peas, beans, and barley grows ; 
Thus the farmer sows his seed. 
Thus he stands to take his ease ; 
He stamps his foot and claps his hands, 
And turns around to view his lands," etc. 

Another great favorite was : 

" Oh, sister Phoebe, how merry were we 
The night we sat under the juniper-tree. 

The juniper-tree, I, oh. 
Take this hat on your head, keep your head warm. 
And take a sweet kiss, it will do you no harm. 
But a great deal of good, I know," etc. 

Another was : 

" If I had as many lives 
As Solomon had wives, 
I'd be as old as Adam ; 
So rise to your feet 
And kiss the first you meet. 
Your humble servant, madam." 

" It's raining, it's hailing, it's cold, stormy weather; 
In comes the farmer drinking of his cider. 
He's going a-reaping, he wants a binder, 
I've lost my true love, where shall I find her." 

A live play was called " hurly-burly." " Two went round and gave 
each one, secretly, something to do. This girl was to pull a young 
man's hair ; another to tweak an ear or nose, or trip some one, etc. 
When all had been told what to do, the master of ceremonies cried out, 
'Hurly-burly.' Every one sprang up and hastened to do as instructed. 
This created a mixed scene of a ludicrous character, and was most prop- 
erly named 'hurly-burly.' " 

TREES, SNAKES, AND REPTILES. 

Our forests were originally covered by a heavy growth of timber-trees 
of various kinds. Pine and hemlock predominated. Chestnut and oak 
grew in some localities. Birch, sugar-maple, ash, and hickory occupied 

164 



Another was 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

a wide range. Birch- and cherry-trees were numerous, and linnwood-, 
cucumber-, and poplar-trees grew on many of the hill-sides, butternut, 
sycamore, black ash, and elm on the low grounds. 

In all, about one hundred varieties of trees grew here. These forests 
have become the prey of the woodman's axe. There has been no voice 
raised effectively to restrain the destruction, wanton as it has been, of the 
best specimens of the pine which the eye of man ever saw. The growth 
of hundreds of years felled to the ground, scarified, hauled to the streams, 
tumbled in, and floated away to the south and east and west for the pal- 
try pittance of ten cents a foot ! Oh, that there could have been some 
power to restrain the grasping, wasteful, avaricious cupidity of man, of 
some voice of thunder crying, "Woodman, woodman, spare that tree! 
That old familiar forest-tree, whose glory and renown has spread over 
land and sea, and woodmen hacked it down 1" 

But they are gone, all gone from the mountain's brow. The hands, 
also, that commenced the destruction are now mouldering into dust, thus 
exemplifying the law of nature, that growth is rapidly followed by decay, 
indicating a common destiny and bringing a uniform result. And such 
are we ; it is our lot thus to die and be forgotten. 

Reptiles and snakes were very numerous. The early pioneer had to 
contend against the non-poisonous and poisonous snakes. The non- 
poisonous were the spotted adder, blacksnake, the green-, the garter-, 
the water-, and the house-snake. The blacksnake sometimes attained a 
length of six and eight feet. But dens of vicious rattlesnakes existed 
in every locality in the county. In the vicinity of Brookville there was 
one at Puckerty, several on the north fork, one at Iowa Mills, and 
legions of rattlers on Mill Creek. The dens had to be visited by bold, 
hardy men annually every spring to kill and destroy these reptiles as 
they emerged in the sun from their dens. Hundreds had to be destroyed 
at each den every spring. This was necessary as a means of safety for 
both man and beast. Of copperheads, there were but a (ew dens in the 
county, and these in the extreme south and southwest, — viz., in Perry 
township, in Beaver township, on Beaver Run ; and two or three dens in 
Porter township, on the head-waters of Pine Run, — viz., Nye's Branch 
and Lost Hill. Occasionally one was found in Brookville. 

The copperhead is hazel-brown on the back and pinkish on the belly. 
On each side there are from fifteen to twenty-six chestnut blotches or 
bands, that somewhat resemble an inverted Y- His head is brighter and 
almost copper-colored on top, and everywhere over his back are found 
very fine dark points. The sides of his head are cream-colored. The 
dividing line between the cream of the side and the copper of the top 
passes through the upper edge of the head, in front of the eye, and 
involves three-fourths of the orbit. The line is very distinct. 

He is commonly found wherever the rattler is, but he does not live 

165 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

quite so far north. He has a variety of names, — upland moccasin, 
chunkhead, deaf-adder, and pilot-snake among the rest. It is agreed 
that he is a much more vicious brute than the rattlesnake. He is more 
easily irritated and is quicker in his movements. It is said that he will 
even follow up a victim for a second blow. On the other hand, his bite 
is very much less dangerous for a variety of reasons. In the first place, 
he is no more than three feet long, and his fangs are considerably shorter 
than those of a rattler of the same size, while his strength is less, and the 
blow, therefore, less effective. So he cannot inflict as deep a wound nor 
inject so much venom. The chances of his getting the venom directly 
into a large vein are proportionately less. 

Rattlesnakes, copperheads, and other large snakes do most of their 
travelling in the night. "Snakes, it appears, are extremely fastidious, 
every species being limited to one or two articles of diet, and prefer- 
ring to starve rather than eat anything else apparently quite as tooth- 
some and suitable. Individual snakes, too, show strange prejudices in 
the matter of diet, so that it is necessary in every case to find out what 
the snake's peculiarities are before feeding him." 

Rattlesnakes eat berries for food, hence they avoid ash and sugar, 
and live on barren, rocky, or on huckleberry land. They like to bathe, 
drink, and live in the sunshine. This, too, makes them avoid ridgy, 
heavily timbered land. 

The bigger the reptile, of course, the more poison it has. Further- 
more, it is to be remembered that of all American serpents the rattle- 
snake is the most dangerous, the copperhead less so, and the water- 
moccasin least. It is a fact that the poisonous snakes are proof against 
their own venom. That this is true has been demonstrated repeatedly by 
inoculating such serpents with the poisonous secretion from their salivary 
glands. It is believed that there exists in the blood of the venomous 
snake some agent similar to the poison itself, and that the presence of 
this toxic principle is accountable for the immunity exhibited. 

One safety from the snakes to the pioneer and his family was the 
great number of razor- back hogs. These animals were great snake- 
hunters, being very fond of them. 

RATTLESNAKES FIRST KILL THEIR PREY, THEN SWALLOW IT 

WHOLE. 

The rattlesnake is not found anywhere but in America. It belongs 
to the viper family. There are twelve species and thirteen varieties. 
They vary in size and color, one variety being red. A rattle is formed 
at each renewal of the skin, and as the skin may be renewed more than 
once a year, rattles do not indicate the exact age. They live to a ripe old 
age, and have sometimes as many as thirty rattles. Some writers call our 
variety the "banded snake." In the natural state the rattler sheds his 

1 66 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

skin but once a year, but in confinement he can be forced to shed the 
skin two or three times annually by giving him warm baths and keeping 
him in a warm place. Rattlers are unable to climb trees, are fond of 




Dr. Ferd. Hoffman and raUlesnakes. 



music, and do not chase a retreating animal that has escaped their 
"strike." 

The rattlesnake of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, is the Crotalus 
horridus, or North American species, and is the black variety, somewhat 
spotted. Our snake attains the length of five feet, but usually only four 
and one-half feet, and they inhabit the barren, rocky portions of our 

167 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

county, formerly in immense numbers, but of late years they are not so 
plentiful. 

Dr. Ferd. Hoffman, of our town, celebrated as a snake-charmer, 
brought a rattlesnake into our store one day, in a little box covered 
with wire screen. The snake was small, being only thirty inches long 
and having seven rattles. Desiring to see the reptile eat, and know- 
ing that they will not eat anything but what they kill themselves, we 
conceived the idea of furnishing his kingship a repast. Mr. Robert 
Scofield went out and captured a large field-mouse (not mole) and 
brought it in, and, in the presence of myself, Scofield, Albert Gooder, 
'Squire McLaughlin and brother, and Frank Arthurs, dropped it into 
the box under the screen. The box was fourteen inches long and seven 
inches wide. The snake, being lively, immediately struck the mouse 
back of the head. The mouse gave a little squeak of terror and ran 
fourteen inches, then staggered fourteen inches, the length of the box, 
then was apparently seized with spinal paralysis, for it had to draw its 
hind limbs with its front feet to a corner of the box. It then raised 
up and fell dead on its back. After striking the mouse, the snake paid 
no attention to anything until the mouse dropped over dead, then his 
snakeship wakened up and apparently smelled (examined) the mouse all 
over. Satisfied it was healthy and good food, the snake caught the 
mouse by the nose and pulled it out of the corner. After this was done, 
the snake commenced the process of swallowing in this manner, — viz. : 
He opened his jaws and took the head of the mouse in one swallow, 
pulling alternately by the hooks in the upper and lower jaw, thus forcing 
the mouse downward, taking an occasional rest, swallowing and resting 
six times in the process. He rattled vigorously three times during this 
procedure. It is said they rattle only when in fear or in danger. This 
rattling of his must have been a notice to us that he was dining, and to 
stand back. 

I am informed by my friend Dr. Hoffman, of Brookville, Pennsyl- 
vania, that the rattlesnake is possessed of both a high intelligence and a 
memory ; that he can be domesticated, and in that state become quite 
affectionate and fond of his master, and that snakes thus domesticated 
will vie and dispute with each other in manifestations of affection to and 
for their master. He also informs me that rattlesnakes are unlike in dis- 
position, — some are cross and ugly, while others are docile and pleasant. 

He also informs me that the rattlesnake can be trained to perform 
tricks, as he has thus trained them himself and made them proficient in 
numerous acrobatic tricks, such as suspending a number by the head of 
one on his thumb, the forming of a suspension chain or bridge, and per- 
mitting them to kiss him, and many other tricks too numerous to relate. 

To my personal knowledge, he has educated or trained the rattlers in 
numbers to perform in the manner indicated here, and without removing, 

1 68 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in a single instance, any poisonous tooth or sac. These trained rattlers 
will fight any stranger the moment he presents himself; but if the master 
or their acquaintance presents himself, the rattlers will at once recognize 
him, and to him be kind, docile, and affectionate. 

The snapping-turtle, the mud-turtle, and the diamond-backed ter- 
rapin existed in great numbers in the swamps and around the streams, 
and formed a part of the Indian's food. The tree-toad, the common toad, 
common frog, lizard, and water-lizard lived here before the pioneers took 
possession of the land. 

The tools of the pioneer were the axe, six-inch auger, the drawing- 
knife, the shaving-knife, a broadaxe, and a cross-cut saw. These were 
"all used in the erecting of his shelters." The dexterity of the pioneer 
in the "slight" and use of the axe was remarkable and marvellous. He 
used it in clearing land, building cabins, making fences, chopping fire- 
wood, cutting paths and roads, bridges and corduroy. In fact, in all 
work and hunting, in travelling by land, in canoeing and rafting on the 
water, the axe was ever the friend and companion of the pioneer. 

The civilized man in his first beginning was farmer, carpenter, mason, 
merchant, and manufacturer — complete, though primitive, in the indi- 
vidual. But he was a farmer first and foremost, and used the other avo- 
cations merely as incidentals to the first and chief employment. Less 
than half a century has elapsed since the spinning-wheel and the loom 
were common and necessary in the home. 



SOLDIERS OF 1812 WHO PASSED THROUGH PINE CREEK TOWN- 
SHIP TO FIGHT GREAT BRITAIN— AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT 
OF THE PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA WHICH MARCHED OVER THE 
OLD STATE ROAD THROUGH BROOKVILLE AND WITHIN TWO 
MILES OF WHERE REYNOLDSVILLE NOW STANDS, WHILE ON 
ITS WAY TO ERIE. 

George Washington never passed through any portion of Jefferson 
County with soldiers ; neither did Colonel Bird, who was stationed at 
Fort Augusta in 1756; neither was there a " road brushed out for the 
purpose of transferring troops to Erie." In 1814, early in the spring, a 
detachment of soldiers, under command of Major William McClelland, 
travelled through our county, over the old State Road (Bald Eagle's Nest 
and Le Bceuf road) to Erie. They encamped at Soldiers' Run, in what 
is now Winslow township, rested at Port Barnett for four days, and en- 
camped over night at the " four-mile" spring, on what is now the Afton 
farm. Elijah M. Graham was impressed with his two " pack-horses" into 
their service, and was taken as far as French Creek, now in Venango 
County. 

Joseph B. Graham gave me these facts in regard to McClelland. 

These soldiers were Pennsylvania volunteers and drafted men, and 
12 169 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

were from Franklin County. Major McClelland, with his officers and 
men, passed through where Brookville now is, over the old Milesburg 
and Waterford Road. Three detachments of troops left Franklin 
County during the years i8i 2-14 at three different times, — one by way 
of Pittsburg, one by way of Baltimore, and the last one through this 
wilderness. All of these troops in these three detachments were under 
the supervision of the brigade inspector, Major McClelland. 



N. B. BOILEAU TO WILLIAM MCCLELLAND. 

" Harrisburg, Februaiy i, 1814. 
"To William McClelland, Esq., Inspector Second Brigade, Seventh 
Division. 
"Sir, — By last evening's mail the Governor received a letter from 
the Secretary of War, requiring a detachment of one thousand militia to 
march to the defence of Erie. He has it in contemplation to order them 
from the counties of Cumberland, York, Adams, and Franklin. The 
Governor directs me to give you this intimation in order that you may 
make arrangements to execute as promptly as possible the orders which 
which will be sent to you in a few days. 

"Very respectfully, sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

"N. B. BOILEAU." 

Note. — Similar letters were written to George Welsh, James Lamber- 
ton, and Archibald S. Jordan. 



governor SIMON SNYDER TO N. B. BOILEAU. 

" General Orders. 

" Harrisburg, February 7, 18 14. 
"To N. B. BoiLEAU, Aidc-de-Canip. 

"In compliance with a requisition by the President of the United 
States, I do order into the service of the Union one thousand men, rank 
and file, of the Pennsylvania militia, and a competent number of officers, 
to be composed of the quotas of the First and Second Brigades of the 
Seventh Division, and of the Second I^rigade of the Fifth Division, desig- 
nated for the service of the United States, under general orders of the 
12th of May, 181 2, to rendezvous at Erie on the 5th day of March, then, 
or as soon thereafter as possible, to be organized into one regiment, and 

to be agreeably to law. 

" Simon Snyder, 

" Governor of tJic Comnwmvcalth of Fcnnsylvafiia.''' 
170 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

N. B. BOILEAU TO WILLIAM MCCLELLAND. 

" Harrisburg, February 24, 1815. 
" To William McClelland, Esq., Inspector of Second Brigade, Seventh 
Division. 

"Sir, — In answer to yours of the 21st ult., to the Governor, I am 
directed to state that in case your first draft does not furnish a quota suf- 
ficient when added to those from Mr. Lamberton's and Welsh's brigades 
to make one thousand men, rank and file, then you put under the direc- 
tion of Major Lamberton the number you may have ready to march, and 
proceed to make another draft to make up the deficiency of your quota, 
and march them on to the general place of rendezvous as expeditiously as 
practicable. You will make an arrangement with Mr. Lamberton as to 
the point where your detachment will join his. A sufficient number of 
tents, together with those at Carlisle, to accommodate the whole detach- 
ment, are now on the road from Philadelphia, and will be at Carlisle on 
Saturday next. 

"By order of the Governor. 

" N. B. BOILEAU." 

I quote from an early history of Franklin County, Pennsylvania : 
"In the early part of the year 1814, the general government having 
made a call upon the State of Pennsylvania for more troops. Governor 
Simon Snyder, about the beginning of February of that year, ordered a 
draft for one thousand men from the counties of York, Adams, Franklin, 
and Cumberland, Cumberland County to raise five hundred men and the 
other counties the balance. The quota of Franklin County was ordered 
to assemble at Loudon on the ist of March, 18 14. What was its exact 
number I have not been able to ascertain. 

"At that time Captain Samuel Dunn, of Path Valley, had a small 
volunteer company under his command, numbering about forty men. 
These, I am informed, volunteered to go as part of the quota of the 
county, and were accepted. Drafts were then made to furnish the 
balance of the quota, and one full company of drafted men, under the 
command of Captain Samuel Gordon, of Waynesburg, and one partial 
company, under command of Captain Jacob Stake, of Lurgan township, 
were organized, and assembled at Loudon in pursuance of the orders of 
the Governor. There the command of the detachment was assumed by 
Major William McClelland, brigade inspector of the county, who con- 
ducted it to Erie. It moved from Loudon on the 4th of March, and 
was twenty-eight days in reaching Erie. According to Major McClel- 
land's report on file in the auditor-general's office at Harrisburg, it was 
composed of one major, three captains, five lieutenants, two ensigns, and 
two hundred and twenty-one privates. 

171 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Captain Jacob Stake lived along the foot of the mountain, between 
Roxbury and Strasburg. He went as captain of a company of drafted 
men as far as Erie, at which place his company was merged into thqse 
of Captains Dunn and Gordon, as the commissions of those officers ante- 
dated his commission and there were not men enough in their companies 
to fill them up to the required complement." 

Upon the arrival of these troops at Erie, and after their organization 
into companies, they were put into the Fifth Regiment of the Pennsyl- 
vania troops, commanded by Colonel James Fenton, of that regiment. 
James Wood, of Greencastle, was major, and Thomas Poe, of Antrim 
township, adjutant, the whole army being under the command of Major- 
General Jacob Brown. 

Adjutant Poe is reputed to have been a gallant officer, one to whom 
fear was unknown. On one occasion he quelled a mutiny among the 
men in camp, unaided by any other person. The mutineers afterwards 
declared that they saw death in his eyes when he gave them the com- 
mand to " return to quarters." He fell mortally wounded at the battle 
of Chippewa, July 5, 181 4, and died shortly afterwards. 

These soldiers did valiant service against the British. They fought 
in the desperate battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, on July 5 and 
25 of the year 181 4. 

War has cost the United States nearly $10,000,000,000 and over 
680,000 lives, to say nothing of 30,000 lives lost in colonial wars before 
the Revolution. Here are the details : 

Cost. Lives. 

Revolution $'35)i93i703 30,000 

War of 1812 107,159,003 2,000 

Mexican war 74,000,000 2,000 

Civil war 8,500,000,000 600,000 

Indian wars . 1,000,000,000 49,000 

The two Napoleons cost France in war nearly $3,500,000,000. For 
the Napoleonic wars France paid $1,275,000,000. Over 5,000,000 men 
were killed in these wars. 

AN OUTLINE OF THE PIONEER LEGAL RELATIONS OF MAN AND 

WIFE. 

Up to and later than 1843, Pennsylvania was under the common law 
system of England. Under this law the wife had no legal separate ex- 
istence. The husband had the right to whip her, and only in the event 
of her committing crimes had she a separate existence from her husband. 
But if the crime was committed in her husband's presence, she was then 
presumed not guilty. Her condition was legally little, if any, better than 
a slave. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Under the common law, husband and wife were considered as one 
person, and on this principle all their civil duties and relations rested. 

The wife could not sue in her own name, but only through her hus- 
band. If she suffered wrong in her person or property, she could, with 
her husband's aid and assistance, prosecute, but the husband had to be 
the plaintiff. For crimes without any presumed coercion of her husband, 
the wife could be prosecuted and punished, and for these misdemeanors 
the punishments were severe. The wife could make no contract with her 
husband. The husband and she could make a contract through the 
agency of trustees for the wife, the wife, though, being still under the pro- 
tection of her husband. 

All contracts made between husband and wife before marriage were 
void after the ceremony. The husband could in no wise convey lands or 
realty to his wife, only and except through a trustee. A husband at death 
could bequeath real estate to his wife. 

Marriage gave the husband all right and title to his wife's property, 
whether real or personal, but he then became liable for all her debts and 
contracts, even those that were made before marriage, and after marriage 
he was so liable, except for " superlluities and extravagances." 

If the wife died before the husband and left no children, the husband 
and his heirs inherited her real estate. But if there were children, the 
husband remained in possession of her land during the lifetime of the 
wife, and at his death the land went to the wife's heirs. 

All debts due to the wife became after marriage the property of the 
husband, who became invested with power to sue on bond, note, or any 
other obligation, to his own and exclusive use. The powers of discharge 
and assignment and change of securities were, of course, involved in the 
leading principle. If the husband died before the recovery of the money, 
or any change in the securities, the wife became entitled to these debts, 
etc., in her own right. All personal property of the wife, such as money, 
goods, movables, and stocks, became absolutely the property of the 
husband upon marriage, and at his death went to his heirs. 

Property could be given to a wife by deed of marriage settlement. 

Property could be settled on the wife after marriage by the husband, 
provided he was solvent at the time and the transfer not made with a 
view to defraud. 

The wife could not sell her land, but any real estate settled upon her 
to a trustee she could bequeath. 

The husband and wife could not be witnesses against each other in 
civil or criminal cases where the testimony could in the least favor or 
criminate either. One exception only existed to this rule, and that 
was this, " the personal safety or the life of the wife gave her permission 
to testify for her protection." For further information, see my "Recol- 
lections." 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
A PIONEER SONG THAT WAS SUNG IN EVERY FAMILY. 

'• OLD GRIMES. 

" Old Grimes is dead, that good old man, 
We ne'er shall see him more; 
He used to wear a long black coat 
All buttoned down before. 

" His heart was open as the day, 
His feelings all were true; 
His hair was some inclined to gray, 
He wore it in a queue. 

" When'er he heard the voice of pain 
His breast with pity burned ; 
The large round head upon his cane 
From ivory was turned. 

" Kind words he ever had for all ; 
He knew no base design ; 
His eyes were dark and rather small, 
His nose was aquiline. 

" He lived in peace with all mankind, 
In friendship he was true ; 
His coat had pocket-holes behind. 
His pantaloons were blue. 

" Unharmed, the sin which earth pollutes 
He passed securely o'er, 
And never wore a pair of boots 
For thirty years or more. 

" But good Old Grimes is now at rest, 
Nor fears misfortune's frown ; 
He wore a double-breasted vest, 
The stripes ran up and down. 

" He modest merit sought to find. 
And pay it its desert : 
He had no malice in his mind. 
No ruffles on his shirt. 

" His neighbors he did not abuse. 
Was sociable and gay ; 
He wore large buckles on his shoes. 
And changed them every day. 

" His knowledge hid from jiublic gaze 
He did not bring to view. 
Nor make a noise town-meeting days, 

As many people do. 
174 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" His worldly goods he never threw 
In trust to fortune's chances, 
But lived (as all his brothers do) 
In easy circumstances. 

" Thus undisturbed by anxious cares 
His peaceful moments ran; 
And everybody said he was 
A fine old gentleman." 

— Albert G. Greene. 

EARLY AND PIONEER MUSIC— PIONEER MUSIC-SCHOOLS AND 
PIONEER SINGING-MASTERS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

I. D. Hughes, of Punxsutawney, informs me that the first music-book 
he bought was Wyeth's "Repository of Sacred Music," second edition. 
I have seen this book myself, but a later edition (the fifth), published in 
1820. Mr. Hughes says that Joseph Thompson, of Dowlingville, was 
the pioneer "singing-master" in Jefferson County, and that he sang from 
Wakefield's " Harp," second edition. He used a tuning-fork to sound 
the pitches, and accompanied his vocal instruction with violin music. 

George James was an early ' ' master, ' ' and used the same book as 
Thompson. These two taught in the early thirties. I. D. Hughes taught 
in 1840 and used the "Missouri Harmony." This was a collection of 
psalm and hymn tunes and anthems, and was published by Morgan & 
Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. The first tune in this old "Harmony," or 
"buckwheat" note-book, was "Primrose" : 

" Salvation, oh, the joyful sound, 
'Tis pleasure to our ears, 
A sovereign balm for every wound, 
A cordial for our fears." 

On the second page was "Old Hundred," and on the same page 
" Canaan" : 

" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eye 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
Where my possessions lie." 

The dear old pioneers who used to delight in these sweet melodies 
have nearly all crossed this Jordan, and are now doubtless singing 
" Harwell" : 

" Hark ! ten thousand harps and voices 
Sound the note of praise above ; 
Jesus reigns, and heaven rejoices ; 
Jesus reigns, the God of love," 

Rev. George M. Slaysman, of Punxsutawney, was the pioneer teacher 
of round notes — the do ra me s — in the county. Judge William P. Jenks 
was also an early instructor in these notes. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

We talk about progress, rapid transit, and electricity, but modern 
music- teachers have failed to improve on the melody of those old pioneer 
tunes, "that seemed like echoes from a heavenly choir; echoes that 
seemed to have increased power every time the pearly gates opened to 
admit some sainted father or mother." 

" God sent these singers upon earth 
With songs of sadness and of mirth, 
That they might touch the hearts of men 
And bring them back to Heaven again." 

A PIONEER SONG FOR THE SUGAR-TROUGH CRADLE. 

DR. WATTS'S CRADLE HYMN. 

" Hush, my babe, lie still and slumber. 
Holy angels guard thy bed; 
Heavenly blessings, without number, 
Gently falling on thy head. 

" Sleep, my babe, thy food and raiment. 
House and home thy friends provide, 
All without thy care or payment. 
All thy wants are well supplied. 

" How much better thou'rt attended 
Than the Son of God could be, 
When from heaven He descended 
And became a child like thee. 

" Soft and easy is thy cradle, 

Coarse and hai'd thy Saviour lay. 
When His birthplace was a stable. 
And his softest bed was hay. 

" Blessed babe! what glorious features. 
Spotless, fair, divinely bright! 
Must He dwell with brutal creatures ? 
How could angels bear the sight? 

" Was there nothing but a manger 
Wicked sinners could afford 
To receive the heavenly stranger ? 
Did they thus affront the Lord ? 

" Soft, my child, I did not chide thee, 

Though my song may sound too hard : 
'Tis thy mother sits beside thee. 
And her arms shall be thy guard. 

" Yet, to read the shameful story. 

How the Jews abused their King ; 
How they served the Lord of Glory, 
Makes me angry while I sing. 
176 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" See the kinder shepherds round Him, 
Telling wonders from the sky; 
There they sought Him, there they found Him, 
With his virgin mother by. 

" See the lovely babe a dressing, 
Lovely infant ! how He smiled ! 
When He wept, His mother's blessing 
Soothed and hushed the holy child. 

" To ! He slumbers in a manger 
Where the horned oxen fed ! 
Peace, my darling, here's no danger, 
Here's no ox about thy bed. 

" 'Twas to save thee, child, from dying. 
Save my dear from burning flame. 
Bitter groans, and endless crying, 
That thy blest Redeemer came. 

" May'sl thou live to know and fear Him, 
Trust and love Him all thy days ! 
Then go dwell forever near Him, 
See His face and sing His praise. 

" I could give thee thousand kisses 
Hoping what I most desire; 
Not a mother's fondest wishes 
Can to greater joys aspire." 

COMPLETE LIST OF TAXABLE INHABITANTS IN JEFFERSON 
COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, IN A.D. 1820. 

PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

Robert Andrews, William Andrews, single man, Joseph Barnett, saw- 
and grist-mill, John Barnett, single man, Andrew Barnett, single man, 
Thomas Barnett, grist-mill, Summers Baldwin, single man, half a saw- 
mill, Israel Bartlett, David Butler, single man, Peter Bartle, Harmen 
Bosley, single man, J. Bowen, Joseph Clements, Paul Campbell, Joseph 
Carr, Euphrastus Carrier, single man, Samuel Corbett, single man, John 
Dixon, Robert Dixon, single man, John Z. Early, two saw-mills, J. 
Stephens, half a saw-mill, Henry Feye, Sr., Henry Feye, Jr., single 
man, George Feye, single man, Aaron Fuller, Solomon Fuller, saw-mill 
and grist-mill, John Fuller, saw-mill, Elijah Graham, Andrew Grinder, 
Alexander Hatter, single man, John Hise, Christopher Himes, William 
Himes, single man, Frederick Hetrick, John Jones, single man, Robert 
Knox, Henry Kailor, Moses Knapp, Lewis Long, John Lucas, John 
Lattimer, single man, Thomas Lucas, Henry Latt, John Matson, half a 
saw-mill, Jacob Mason, Abraham Milliron, Philip Milliron, William 
Morrison, Joseph McCullough, Samuel McGill, William Milliron, John 

177 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Mason, single man, John McCartney, single man, John McClelland, 
single man, Adam Newenhouse, John Nolf, Jr., John Nolf, Sr., saw-mill, 
Peter B. Ostrander, half a saw-mill, Alexander Powers, Jacob Pierce, 
single man, John Reed, Hulet Smith, James Shields, Samuel Shaffer, 
Henry Sharp, Walter Templeton, Adam Vas^binder, Sr., Jacob Vas- 
binder, William Vasbinder, Henry Vasbinder, John Vasbinder, Andrew 
Vasbinder, Jr., single man. Fudge Van Camp, colored, Richard Van 
Camp, single man, colored, Sarah Van Camp, colored, Enos Van Camp, 
colored, Hugh Williamson, John Welsh, saw-mill, Charles Sutherland, 
colored. 

PERRY TOWNSHIP, 

Jesse Armstrong, James Brady, Jr., John Bell, Esq., James Bell, single 
man, Joseph Bell, single man, John Bell, single man, Asa Crossman, Sr., 
Asa Crossman, Jr., Joseph Crossman, Elisha Dike, Benjamin Dike, Na- 
thaniel Foster, Charles C. Gaskill, David Hamilton, James Hamilton, 
Archibald Hadden, Jacob Hoover, saw-mill, Elijah Heath, John Hoover, 
James Hutchinson, James Irven, Dr. John W. Jenks, Stephen Lewis, 
Isaac Lewis, Michael Lantz, Jacob Lantz, single man, Adam Long, 
James McClelland, Elizabeth McHenry, John McDonald, David Mill- 
iron, John Milliron, Hugh McKee, James McKee, John Newcome, John 
Postlethwait, David Postlethwait, single man, John Pifer, Thomas Pagne, 
Peter Reed, Samuel Stokes, William Smith, James Stewart, John Stewart, 
Jacob Smith, William Thompson, James Wachob, John Young, 

MAPLE-SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

One of the pioneer industries in this wilderness was maple-sugar- 
making. The sugar season commenced either in the last of February or 
the first of March. In any event, at this time the manufacturer always 
visited his camp to see or set things in order. The camp was a small 
cabin made of logs, covered usually with clapboards, and open at one 
end. The fireplace or crane and hooks were made in this way : Before 
the opening in the cabin four wooden forks were deeply set in the ground, 
and on these forks was suspended a strong pole. On this pole was hung 
the hook of a limb, with a pin in the lower end to hang the kettle on. 
An average camp had about three hundred trees, and it required six ket- 
tles, averaging about twenty-two gallons each, to boil the water from that 
many trees. The trees were tapped in various ways, — viz. : First, with 
a three-quarter-inch auger, one or two inches deep. In this hole was 
put a round spile about eighteen inches long, made of sumach or whit- 
tled pine, two spiles to a tree. The later way was by cutting a hollow 
notch in the tree and putting the spile below with a gouge. This spile 
was made of pine or some soft wood. When a boy I lived about five 
years with Joseph and James McCurdy, in what is now Washington town- 

17S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ship, and the latter method of opening trees was practised by them. In- 
deed, all I say here about this industry I learned from and while with 
them. At the camp there were always from one to three storage-troughs 
made of cucumber or poplar, and each trough held from ten barrels up- 
ward. Three hundred trees required a storage of thirty barrels and 
steady boiling with six kettles. The small troughs under the trees were 




Stirring oft maple-sugai. 

made of pine and cucumber and held from three to six gallons. We 
hauled the water to the storage-troughs with one horse and a kind of 
"pung," the barrel being kept in its place by plank just far enough 
apart to hold it tight. In the iireplace there was a large back log and 
one a little smaller in front. The fire was kept up late and early with 
smaller wood split in lengths of about three feet. We boiled the water 
into a thick syrup, then strained it through a woollen cloth while hot into 
the syrup-barrel. AVhen it had settled, and before putting it on to 
"sugar off," we strained it the second time. During this sugaring we 
skimmed the scum off with a tin skimmer and clarified the syrup in the 
kettle with eggs Avell beaten in sweet milk. This "sugaring off" was 
always done in cloudy or cold days, when the trees wouldn't run " sap." 
One barrel of sugar-water from a sugar-tree, in the beginning of the 
season, would make from five to seven pounds of sugar. The sugar was 
always made during the first of the season. The molasses was always 

179 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COFNTV, PENNA. 

made at the last of the season, or else it would turn to sugar in a very few 
days. The sugar was made in cakes, or "stirred off" in a granulated 
condition, and sold in the market for from six and a quarter to twelve 
and a half cents a pound. In "sugaring off," the syrup had to be fre- 
quently sampled by dropping some of it in a tin of cold water, and if the 
molasses formed a " thread" that was brittle like glass, it was fit to stir. 
I was good at sampling, and always anxious to try the syrup, as James 
McCurdy, who is still living, can substantiate. In truth, I was never 
very hungry during sugar-making, as I had a continual feast during 
this season of hot syrup, treacle, and sugar. 

Skill and attention were both necessary in "sugaring off," for if the 
syrup was taken off too soon the sugar was wet and tough, and if left on 
too long, the sugar was burnt and bitter. Time has evoluted this indus- 
try from our county. In the census chapter of 1840 you will find how 
many pounds of maple-sugar were manufactured in each township and the 
sum total in pounds for the county. 

" While maple-sugar-making has passed in Jefferson County, it still is 
quite an important industry in many parts of the country. According to 
the statistics gathered in the census of 1890, Vermont leads in the pro- 
duction of maple-sugar, at least in the number of large producers. There 
were 23,533 producers who manufactured each 500 pounds or over of 
sugar, according to that census. Of these, Vermont reported 10,099 '> New 
York, 7884; New Hampshire, 1725; Michigan, 1135; Pennsylvania, 
iioi ; Ohio, 930 ; Massachusetts, 415 ; Maryland, 78 ; Maine, 39 ; West 
Virginia, 26; Indiana, 24; Iowa and Minnesota, 23 each; Illinois, 8; 
Connecticut and Missouri, 5 each ; W^isconsin and Virginia, 4 each ; 
Tennessee and North Carolina, 2 each; and Kentucky, i. 

"It is the hard-maple tree that makes the sugar. Windham County, 
Vermont, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and Delaware County, New 
York, are the three greatest maple-sugar producing counties in the Union, 
the first leading the list with an annual yield of about 3,000,000 pounds, 
the second producing 2,500,000 pounds, and the third 2,ooo,oco pounds. 
The largest single sugar-bush is in Windham County; it contains 7000 
sap-bearing trees." 

Joseph and James McCurdy were i)ioneer settlers. Joseph has been 
dead many years, and I can cheerfully say that he was an honest and 
true Christian. 

THE TRANSPORTATION OF IRON THROUGH JEFP^ERSON COUNTY. 

Centre County, Pennsylvania, was richly supplied by nature with the 
finest quality of iron ore and all the other requisites for its manufacture 
into iron. The pioneer in the iron business in what is now Centre 
County was Colonel John Patton, of the Revolutionary war. Imme- 
diately after peace was declared he removed to this region and erected 

I So 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFP'^ERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"Centre Furnace." He died in 1804. The iron in early days, before 
iSoo, was called "Juniata Iron," and the market was to be found on the 
Atlantic seaboard. 

The development of this rich iron field, thus early commenced, 
gradually developed under the old charcoal system, until in 1826, when, 
from an increased demand from the Western market, there was in active 
operation in that county thirteen furnaces making annually eleven thou- 
sand six hundred tons of pig-metal and three thousand one hundred tons 
of bar-iron, — with such a production of iron new markets had to be sought 
out. The completion of the Susquehanna and Waterford Turnpike 
through this wilderness suggested the feasibility to the Greggs, Curtins, 
and others of transporting pig-metal, blooms, and iron to the waters of 
Red Bank by horse power, a distance of about eighty-eight miles, and 
from here by water to Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ken- 
tucky. 

As near as I can ascertain, about the year 1828 a contract was entered 
into by iron men of Centre County with Henry Riley, of Armstrong 
County, Pennsylvania, to deliver blooms and pig- iron to Pittsburg and 
the Western market at a stated price per ton. The transportation on 
land to Port Barnett was principally carried on during the winter months 
by farmers in subcontracts. Port Barnett was so named because it was 
a shipping-point. Henry Feye hauled with an ox-team, and Joseph Mc- 
Giffin, of this county, hauled with a horse-team. The late Uriah Matson 
and Peter B. Ostrander took subcontracts from Riley for delivering at 
Port Barnett. They hauled with oxen and sleds and carried their own 
board and ox-feed with them. The round trip took them about ten days. 
Matson and Ostrander received about ten dollars per ton for their work. 
Peter B. Ostrander was a veteran of the war of 181 2. Other Port Barnett 
teamsters were Samuel Jones and David Butler. Fudge Van Camp, our 
colored patriarch and brother, hauled this pig-metal as well as fiddled in 
the old inns and taverns. Riley's teamsters were Captain F. Downs, 
Christ Shick, and others. These men were all well supplied with old 
rye and used it freely. They hauled with wooden sleds, having wooden 
soles. The iron was principally hauled from Phillipsburg. A number of 
Armstrong farmers (now Clarion) took subcontracts from Riley, — viz., 
the Joneses, Crookses, Hindmans, and Shieldses. The "silver craze" 
prevailed then, for Riley paid his contract workers all in silver. 

From Port Barnett the pioneer transportation to Pittsburg was on 
rafts. The rafts were made of dry or dead pine timber, in this wise : 
The sticks were notched on each side and a hole was bored through 
each ; then the sticks were placed side by side in the water to form a 
platform, and poles were driven through these flat platforms and wedged 
on each side. These dry pine logs forming the platform were marketed 
in Pittsburg for wood. Samuel T. Corbett, uncle of W. W. Corbett, 

iSi 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

was the pioneer to pilot one of these rafts to market. Henry Feye con- 
ceived the idea that barges would afford better transportation facilities 
for the iron, and he built one, loaded it, and had the misfortune to stove 
it on what is now called, on that account, "Iron Bar Ripple." This 
ripple is about one and one-half miles from the mouth of Red Bank. 
William Jack, of Brookville, built boats on the North Fork, at the head 
of what is now Heidrick, Matson & Co. 's dam. The late James K. Hoff- 
man and John Dixon workeil on these boats and helped run them to 
market. The barge business continued, and Major William Rodgers, of 
Brookville, and Thomas Chapman, of Westmoreland County, Pennsyl- 
vania, received the contract in 1S32 for the transportation of three hun- 
dred tons. This contract was for but two years, and was for bar-iron 
to be delivered at Louisville, Kentucky. Their shipping-point was the 
mouth of the North Fork. Joseph McGiffin, William Kennedy, and 
William Kelso, of this county, hauled for this firm. Chapman and 
Rodgers shipped entirely by barges or flat-boats about eighty feet long. 
After the iron was unloaded an eighty-foot boat brought them eighty 
dollars. 

This mode of transportation ceased in 1S34, but iron and nails were 
still brought here for our local market for many years thereafter. 

THE FIRST SCREW FACTORY. 

"It is an especially noteworthy fact, known to comparatively (e\v 
persons, that the first screw-mill in the United States was erected in 1821 
by Mr. Phillips in the little mountain village of Phillipsburg, hundreds of 
miles distant from any of the great marts of the country. The neces- 
sary buildings were put up near the Moshannon Creek, in a suburb of the 
town that is now called Point Lookout. The capacity of the factory was 
fifteen hundred gross per week, but the largest quantity produced during 
the time it was in operation was one thousand gross per week, the material 
for which was prepared from the blooms by rolling and wire drawing 
machinery operated by steam- and water-power. The nearest and best 
market was at Pittsburg, through Port Barnett, and the products of the 
forge- and screw- mill had to be hauled at no inconsiderable expense to 
the waters of the Allegheny River in wagons, and thence transported in 
arks to their destination." 

The old Chinklacamoose trail passed through and over the high 
table- lands in the county of Centre, passing through or near Milesburg, 
Phillipsburg, and Snow Shoe. Snow Shoe took its name from the follow- 
ing circumstances: About or previous to the year 1775, "a party of white 
hunters went out on the old Chinklacamoose trail and were overtaken on 
these high table-lands of the Allegheny Mountains, near the forks of 
Moshannon Creek, by a heavy snow-storm. Their provisions becoming 
exhausted they had to make snow-shoes and walk in them to the Bald 

182 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Eagle settlement. It required about two days to travel in these snow- 
shoes a distance of thirty miles." This old Indian path passed through 
the Indian town of Chinklacamoose, — old town, or what is now called 
Clearfield. " This was the central point of the great Chinklacamoose 
path." " Post lodged at this village on his way to the Ohio country in 
the night of August 2, 1758. 'We arrived,' he writes in his journal, 
' this night at Shinglimuce, where we saw the posts painted red and stuck 
in the ground, to which the Indians tie their prisoners. It is a disagree- 
able and melancholy sight to see the means they use to punish flesh and 
blood.' " 

At this point Indian trails connecting the great eastern and western 
waters crossed the mountains in various directions. There was a trail 
towards Fort Venango (through Brookville), another towards Kittanning 
(through Punxsutawney), and one towards the source of the Sinnema- 
honing (through Brockwayville). Punxsutawney was another central 
point for Indian paths, and this Chinklacamoose trail is famous, made 
so by the fact that the "white prisoners" were carried over it to Kit- 
han-ne, in Munsi Indian, and Gicht-han-ne, in Delaware, meaning Kit- 
tanning, or a town near or on the main stream, — viz., the Allegheny 
River. 

I copy from the Armstrong history a few c5f the early cruelties prac- 
tised on the prisoners carried over this trail. 

"At a council, held in Philadelphia, Tuesday, September 6, 1756, 
the statement of John Coxe, a son of the widow Coxe, was made, the 
substance of which is : He, his brother Richard, and John Craig were 
taken in the beginning of February of that year by nine Delaware In- 
dians from a plantation two miles from McDowell's mill, which was 
between the east and west branches of the Conococheague Creek, about 
twenty miles west of the present site of Shippensburg, in what is now 
Franklin County, and brought to Kittanning 'on the Ohio.' On his 
way hither he met Shingas with a party of thirty men, and afterwards, with 
Captain Jacobs and fifteen men, whose design was to destroy the settle- 
ments in Conogchege. When he arrived at Kittanning he saw here 
about one hundred fighting men of the Delaware tribe, with their families, 
and about fifty English prisoners, consisting of men, women, and chil- 
dren. During his stay here Shingas's and Jacobs's parties returned, the 
one with nine scalps and five prisoners. Another company of eighteen 
came from Diahogo with seventeen scalps on a pole, which they took to 
Fort Duquesne to obtain their reward. The warriors held a council, 
which, with their war-dances, continued a week, when Captain Jacobs left 
with forty-eight men, intending, as Coxe was told, to fall upon the in- 
habitants of Paxton. He heard the Indians frequently say that they 
intended to kill all the white folks except a few, Avith whom they would 
afterwards make peace. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"They made an example of Paul Broadley, whom, with their usual 
cruelty, they beat for half an hour with clubs and tomahawks, and then, 
having fastened him to a post, cropped his ears close to his head and 
chopped off his fingers, calling all the prisoners to witness the horrible 
scene. 

" Among other English prisoners brought to Kittanning were George 
Woods, father-in-law of the eminent lawyer, James Ross (deceased), and 
the wife and daughter of John Grey, who were captured at Bigham's 
Fort, in the Tuscarora Valley, in 1756. Mr. Grey came out here with 
Armstrong's expedition, hoping to hear from his family. These three 
prisoners were sent from Kittanning to Fort Duquesne and subsequently 
to Canada. 

"Fort Granville, which was situated on the Juniata, one mile above 
Lewistown, was besieged by the Indians July 30, 1756. The force then 
in it consisted of twenty- four men under the command of Lieutenant 
Armstrong, who was killed during the siege. The Indians having offered 
quarter to those in the fort, a man by the name of John Turner opened 
the gate to them. He and the others, including three women and several 
children, were taken prisoners. By order of the French commander the 
fort was burned by Captain Jacobs. When the Indians and prisoners 
reached Kittanning, Turner was tied to a black post, the Indians danced 
around him, made a great fire, and his body was run through with red- 
hot gun-barrels. Having tormented him for three hours, the Indians 
scalped him alive, and finally held up a boy, who gave him the finishing 
stroke with a hatchet. 

" Such were a few of the terrible enactments of which Kittanning was 
the scene in the eighteenth century." 

POPULATION OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA AND OF THE 
UNITED STATES FROM 1790 TO 1S40 INCLUSIVE. 

1790. 

Whites. Free Colored. Negro Slaves. Total in Pennsylvania. 

424,099 6,537 3,737 434,373 

Population in the United States, 3,929,827. 

1800. 

586,098 14.561 1,706 602,365 

Population in the United Slates, 5,305,941. 

i8io. 

786,704 22,492 795 810,091 

Population in the United States, 7,239,814. 
1820. 

1,017,094 32,153 211 1,049,458 

Population in the United States, 9,638,191. 
184 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEF'FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1830. 

Whites. Free Colored. Negro Slaves. Total in Pennsylvania. 

1,309,900 37,930 403 1,348,233 

Population in the United States, 12,866,020. 

1840. 

1,676,115 47,854 64 1,724,033 

Population in the United States, 17,069,453. 

RATIO FOR A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 

1790 — 33,000 Number in Pennsylvania, 13 Total membership, 105 

iSoo — 33,000 " " " 

iSio — 35,000 " " " 

1S20 — 40,000 " " " 

1830 — 47,000 " " " 

1840 — 70,680 " " " 

Salary of a Congressman, eight dollars a day. 



18 


141 


23 


181 


26 


213 


28 


' " 240 


24 


223 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE ERECTION OF THE COUNTY SITE FOR COUNTY ESTABLISHED, AND 

DEED FOR PUBLIC LOTS — PIONEER COURT-HOUSE AND JAIL — THE 
PIONEER ACADEMY. 

ERECTION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

When William Penn came to what is now the State of Pennsylvania 
and organized what has become our present Commonwealth, he erected 
three counties, which were Bucks, Philadelphia, and Chester. Chester 
County extended over the western portion of the State at that time. In 
reality, it had jurisdiction over only the inhabitable portion, but its 
boundary lines extended west of what is now Jefferson County. 

On May 10, 1729, Lancaster County was erected from Chester. On 
January 27, 1750, Cumberland County was erected from Lancaster. On 
March 9, 1771, Bedford County was erected from Cumberland. March 
27, 1772, Northumberland County was erected, and for thirteen years our 
wilderness was in this county. On April 13, 1795, Lycoming County 
was erected from Northumberland, and on March 26, 1804, Jefferson 
County was erected from Lycoming County. Thus you will see that this 
wilderness was embraced in six other counties before it was erected into 
a separate county. The name of the county was given in honor of 
Thomas Jefferson, who was then President of the United States. The 
original area of Jefferson County contained 1203 square miles, but it now 
has only about 413,440 acres; highest altitude, from 1200 to 1880 feet 
above sea-level; length of county, 46 miles; breadth, 26 miles. 
13 1S5 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

'' Jefferson County is now in the fourth tier of counties east of the Ohio 
line, and in the third tier south of the New York line, and is bounded by 
Forest and P^lk on the north, Clearfield on the east, Indiana on the south, 
and Armstrong and Clarion on the west. Its south line now runs due 
west twenty-three and one-third miles from the Clearfield-Indiana corner ; 



WARRE N 



M9KEAN 




INDIANA 



Map of Jefferson County, 1S42. 

its west line thence due north twenty-eight and one-quarter miles to the 
Clarion River ; its north line, first up the Clarion River to Elk County, 
thence due south one-half mile, thence southeast thirteen and three- 
quarter miles, to Clearfield County ; its east line runs first southwest ten 
miles, thence due south fifteen and one-third miles, to the starting-place 
at the Clearfield Indiana corner. 

1 86 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

" The original boundary lines enclosed an area of more than one thou- 
sand square miles, embracing much of what is now Forest and Elk, be- 
yond the Clarion River. At what time the present boundaries were 
erected is not certain ; but much shifting took place, especially along the 
northern border, until comparatively recent years. 

" The pioneer people were mainly of Scotch-Irish descent, with a 

considerable intermixture of the German element, industrious, prudent, 

and thrifty. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

"The surface of Jefferson County is uniformly broken and hilly; 
everywhere occupied by the same set of rock strata, lying nearly hori- 
zontal, and excavated into valleys and ravines in the same style. Although 
one valley cannot be said to be the exact counterpart of another, nor the 
streams be considered of equal size and importance, yet the type of the 
topography is the same wherever we look at it, and any one part of the 
county, therefore, is, in this respect, a picture of the whole. 

" Standing upon one of the many elevated points of the region, the 
observer may see beneath him a broad valley, from three hundred to five 
hundred feet deep, and as irregular in its trend and course as its slopes 
are variable in their fall. Here precipitous walls face the stream on both 
sides; there a sharp descent upon the one side is faced by a long gentle 
slope upon the other, according as the dips are arranged ; at another 
place the valley widens under the influence of a synclinal, and both its 
slopes are gradual. Numerous ravines, some short, some long, some deep, 
others shallow, debouch into the valley from both sides. Uplands un- 
dulating, but of a pretty uniform height, stretch away in both directions. 
No mountain ridges are anywhere visible on the horizon. As far as the 
eye can see there spreads an elevated table-land, broken by vales, valleys, 
and ravines. 

"The height above tide of the upland summits ranges from twelve 
hundred to eighteen hundred and eighty feet. They are lowest at the 
southern end of the county, and highest at the northern end, in obedi- 
ence to a topographical law prevailing throughout Western Pennsylvania : 
that the surface elevations gradually increase in the direction of the rising 
anticlinal axes, — i.e., towards the northeast. 

" To this law there is one notable exception in Jefferson County ; 
the southeast corner borders on the high table-land of the Chestnut Ridge 
anticlinal, whose summits frequently attain an elevation of two thousand 
feet; and some few points in Gaskill township rise nearly to that height; 
but these points are related more closely to the topography of Indiana 
and Clearfield Counties than to that of Jefferson, which is in fact a mere 
continuation of that prevailing throughout Clarion, Armstrong, and 
western Indiana Counties. 

187 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
ELEVATION. 

Feet. 

Hillman above sea-level, iSSo 

Perrysvilie " " 1170 

Winslow " " 1636 

Horatio " " I2ii 

Falls Creek above tide, 1405 

Evergreen " " 1398 

Magee's (Sandy Valley P. O.) " " 13S7 

Panther Run " " 1386 

Reynoldsville " " 1377 

Prior Run " " 1366 

Prindible " " 1360 

McAnnulty's Run " " 1359 

Camp Run " " 1341 

Fuller's " " 1327 

Wolf Run " " 1319 

Iowa Mills " " 1299 

Bell's Mills " " 1268 

Brookville Tunnel, east end " " 1242 

Brookville Station " " 1235 

Coder's Run " " 1223 

Puckerty Point " " 1214 

Rattlesnake Run " " 1207 

Baxter " '• 1206 

Troy " " 1 186 

Heathville " " 1161 

Ration's " " 1131 

ELEVATION ABOVE TIDE FROM FALLS CREEK TO RIDGEWAY. 

Near Falls Creek Station above tide, 1406 

Surface ot ground, McMinn's Summit " " 1625 

(McMinn's Summit is the Boon Mountain divide.) 

Brockwayville " " 1466 

Ordinary low water in Little To!)y " " 1441 

On the main Ridgway Road " " 145 1 

Mouth of Little Toby Creek " " 1321 

(This is the ordinary water-level.) 

Big Run " " 1287 

Sykesville " " 1350 

Punxsutavv'ney . " " 1225 

DRAINAGE. 

" The drainage of Jefferson County is all westward towards the Ohio 
River, through (i) the Clarion River at the north end of the county^ (2) 
Red Bank Creek in the centre, and (3) Mahoning Creek on the south. 
Each of these streams has its own complex system of tributaries, each 
with its own system of small branches and branchlets ; and thus the sur- 
face of the whole county is broken into hills. 

188 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

' ' Although the Clarion and Mahoning are larger streams, yet they flow- 
on the borders of the county, and are less important to it than the Red Bank. 

" Red Bank Creek is the principal stream, as a glance at the map will 
at once show. Its water basin is unsymmetrical on the two sides, a much 
larger part of its drainage coming in from the north than from the south. 
Excepting indeed from the Little Sandy branch its basin on the south 
side would be confined pretty much to the hills which overlook the creek ; 
whereas towards the north its far-reaching arms extend to what is now the 
Elk County line. 

" Red Bank Creek in the original maps and drafts of Jefferson County 
bore the name of Sandy Lick, which name is still retained for its main 
branch, coming from Clearfield County, along which the Bennett's 
Branch Railroad is laid. The creek assumes the name of Red Bank at 
Brookville, where Sandy Lick unites wath the North Fork, and both 
branches carry enough water during floods to float rafts and logs. 

" Mill Creek, a branch of the Sandy Lick, is also a rafting stream. 

" Little Sandy, before alluded to as occupying the southwestern part 
of the county, is a rafting stream. 

" The volume of water, however, in all the streams, large and small, 
is extremely irregular, varying as it does from stages of high flood when 
the larger streams are destructive torrents, to stages of almost complete 
exhaustion during periods of severe drought. This extreme of variability 
is largely the consequence of the porous and loose condition of the surface 
rocks, which thus copiously yield water so long as they hold it. In 
1879, an exceptional year, after a succession of prolonged droughts, 
there was a dearth of water in all parts of the county ; the larger streams 
had barely enough in them to turn a mill ; and considerable difficulty 
was experienced, especially in the upland country, to obtain water for the 
cattle. As a rule, the county is abundantly watered for agricultural pur- 
poses, and for domestic supply in towns and villages. 

"The Red Bank-Mahoning divide in the southeast corner of the 
county crosses from Clearfield at a point nearly due east of Reynoldsville. 
Thence it follows an irregular southwest line, around the heads of Elk 
Run, and around the heads of Little Sandy. Paradise settlement stands 
at the top of it ; so does Shamoka, Oliveburg, and Frostburg. Porter 
Post-Office at the southwest end of the county marks the top of the divide 
in that region. 

" The Red Bank-Clarion divide on the north enters Jefferson south of 
Lane's Grove, where one branch of Rattlesnake Run takes its rise. After 
passing Brockwayville the water-shed is forced almost to the edge of Little 
Toby valley, as will be seen on examination of the county map. Along 
the last-named stream it passes in Elk County, where curving about the 
heads of the North Fork (Red Bank system), it returns again to Jefferson, 
whence closely skirting the Clarion River, it runs southwest of Sigel. 

1S9 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

There it turns sharply about and next sweeps around the head of Big 
Mill Creek, extending thence south to within a few miles of the Red 
Bank valley. It therefore describes a semicircle in northern Jefferson, 
stretching from one side of the county to the other." 

FOREST-TREES. 

"The southern portion of Jefferson County was mostly covered with 
white oak, black oak, rock oak, chestnut, sugar, beech, and hickory. 

"The rock areas of northern Jefferson were covered with pine and 
hemlock, with scarcely a trace of white oak. There is still a consider- 
able quantity of marketable hemlock left. 

"White oak, chestnut, sugar, beech, and hickory were the principal 
kinds of wood on the cleared lands. 

"White oak was found mostly on the high uplands. 

" W. C. Elliott says, ' There were four kinds of maple, four of ash, five 
of hickory, eight of oak, three of birch, four of willow, four of poplar, 
four of pine, and from one to three of each of the other varieties. The 
following are the names of all of them ; some of the trees are not correctly 
named, but the names given are the only English names by which they 
go. Their Latin names are all correct and would be given, but would not 
be understood. Sweet-bay, cucumber, elkwood, long-leaved cucumber, 
white basswood, toothache-tree, wafer-ash, spindle-tree, Indian-cherry, 
feted buckeye, sweet buckeye, striped maple, sugar-maple, white maple, 
red maple, ash-leaved maple, staghorn sumach, dwarf sumach, poison 
elder, locust, coffee-nut, honey-locust, judas-tree, wild plum, hog-plum, 
red cherry, black cherry, American crab apple, crab-apple, cockspur, 
thorn, scarlet haw, blackthorn, Washington thorn, service-tree, witch- 
hazel, sweet-gum, dogwood, boxwood, sour-gum, sheep-berry, stag-bush, 
sorrel-tree, spoonwood, rosebay, southern buckthorn, white ash, red ash, 
green ash, black ash, fringe-tree, catalpa, sassafras, red elm, white elm, 
rock elm, hackberry, red mulberry, sycamore, butternut, walnut, bitter- 
nut, pignut, kingnut, shagbark, white hickory, swamp white oak, chest- 
nut oak, yellow oak, red oak, shingle oak, chinquapin, chestnut, iron- 
wood, leverwood, beech, gray birch, red birch, black birch, black alder, 
speckled alder, black willow, sand-bar willow, almond-willow, glaucous 
willow, aspen, two varieties of soft poplar, two varieties of cottonwood, 
two varieties of necklace-poplar, liriodendron (incorrectly called poplar), 
white cedar, red cedar, white pine, hemlock, balsam, fir, hickory, pine, 
pitch-pine or yellow pine, red pine, Virginia date, and forest olive. In 
addition to the above were numerous wild berries, vines, etc' 

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE. 

" The rocks of Jefferson County are folded in a regular succession of 
parallel anticlinal ridges and synclinal basins, stretching from southwest 

190 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to northeast. The folds are not all equidistant from each other. Those 
west of Perrysville anticlinical are nearly so. 

"The anticlinical arches are low, and the synclinal basins are shal- 
low ; and while they are not equal in height and depth, when compared 
with one another, the difference is small, although of considerable im- 
portance in its effect upon mining interests. Some idea of how gently 
the rocks incline from the horizontal may be got from the fact that the 
whole thickness of strata outcropping at the surface in any basin does 
not exceed five hundred feet, although the basin is in some cases six 
miles wide. 

"The axes of the rolls and troughs being parallel, the line of strike 
is necessarily uniform in all parts of the county ; about N. 40° E, (S. 
40° W.). 

"The normal dip, therefore, is either to the N. 50° W, or S. 50° E. 
But the real dip is somewhat different, owing to the plainly marked rise 
of the whole region (with its anticlinals and synclinals) towards the 
northeast." — Geological Report of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. 

" An Act to erect Parts of Lycoming, Huntingdon, and Somerset 
Counties into Separate County Districts. 
" Section i. Be it enacted, etc., and it is hereby enacted by the author- 
ity of the same. That part of the county of Lycoming, included within 
the following lines, to wit: Beginning at the northeast corner of Venango 
County, and thence east thirty miles (part along the line of Warren 
County), and thence by a due south line fifteen miles, thence a south- 
westerly course to Sandy Lick Creek, where Hunter's district line crosses 
said creek ; thence south along Hunter's district line to a point twelve 
miles north of the canoe-place, on the west branch of Susquehanna ; 
thence a due west line until it intersects the eastern boundary of Arm- 
strong County ; thence north along the line of Armstrong and Venango 
Counties, to the place of beginning, be, and the same is hereby erected 
into a separate county, to be henceforth called Jefferson County ; and the 
place of holding the courts of justice shall be fixed by the Legislature at 
any place at a distance not greater than seven miles from the centre of 
the said county, which may be most beneficial and convenient for the 
said county. 

"Section 7. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Governor shall, as soon as convenient, appoint three Commissioners 
to run and mark the boundary lines of the counties of Jefferson, Clear- 
field, and Cambria, and shall appoint three other Commissioners to run 
and mark the boundary lines of the counties of McKean, Potter, and 
Tioga, according to the true intent and meaning of this act ; and the 
said Commissioners, or any two of them, shall have power to run the 
aforesaid lines, and shall have, for their services, the sum of two dollars 

191 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

for every mile so run and marked, to be paid out of the treasury of this 
Commonwealth. 

" Section 8. A//d he it furtJicr enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
as soon as it shall appear by an enumeration of the taxable inhabitants 
within the counties of Jefferson, McKean, Clearfield, Potter, Tioga, and 
Cambria, that any of the said counties, according to the ratio which shall 
then be established for apportioning the representation among the several 
counties of this Commonwealth, shall be entitled to a separate representa- 
tion, provision shall be made by law apportioning the said representa- 
tion, and enabling such county to be represented separately, and to hold 
the courts of justice at such place in the said county as is or may here- 
after be fixed for holding the same by the Legislature, and to choose 
their county officers in like manner as in the other counties of this 
Commonwealth. 

" Section 9. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Governor be, and he is hereby authorized and required to appoint 
three suitable persons for trustees in each of the said counties, who shall 
receive proposals in writing from any person or persons, or any bodies 
corporate or politic, for the grant or conveyance of any lands within the 
said counties respectively, and within the limits prescribed by this act for 
fixing the place of holding courts of justice in said counties respectively, 
or the transfer of any other property, or payment of money for the use of 
said counties, and transmit to the Legislature from time to time a copy 
of the proposals so received under their hands ; and when the place of 
holding courts of justice in the said counties respectively shall be fixed 
by the Legislature, to take assurances in the law for the lands and other 
valuable property, or money contained in any such proposals, which shall 
or may be accepted of. 

"Section 13. And he it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That for the present convenience of the inhabitants of the county of Jef- 
ferson, and until an enumeration of the taxable inhabitants of said county 
shall be made, and it shall be otherwise directed by law, the said county 
of Jefferson shall be, and the same is hereby annexed to the county of 
Westmoreland ; and the jurisdiction of the several courts of the county 
of Westmoreland, and the authority of the judges thereof, shall extend 
over and shall operate and be effectual within the said county of Jef- 
ferson. 

"Section 15. And he it furtbier enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the electors within the counties erected by this act shall continue 
to elect at the same places and with the same counties as heretofore. 

"Approved — the twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand and eight hundred and four. 

" Thomas McKean, 
" Governor of the Coinmoivealth of Pcunsylvaniay 
192 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"An Act approving the Appointment of Commissioners to fix upon 
A Proper Site for the Seat of Justice in Jefferson County. 

" Section i. Be if enacted, etc., and it is hereby enacted by the authority 
of the same, That John Mitchell, of the county of Centre, Alexander Mc- 
Calmont, of the county of Venango, and Robert Orr, Junior, of Arm- 
strong County, be and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, who, or 
a majority of whom, shall meet at the house of Andrew Barnett, in the 
county of Jefferson, on the first Monday in September next, and from 
thence proceed to view and determine the most eligible and proper situa- 
tion for the seat of justice for the said county of Jefferson, and make report 
into the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth on or before the 
first Monday of December next ; and each of said Commissioners shall 
receive three dollars per day for every day they shall be necessarily em- 
ployed in the duty aforesaid, to be paid by v/arrants drawn by the Commis- 
sioners of Jefferson County on the treasurer of said county : Provided, That 
in case of death, resignation, or inability of any one or more of the 
Commissioners to serve, the Governor shall be authorized and required 
to appoint such suitable person or persons to fill such vacancy or 
vacancies. 

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Commissioners of Jefferson County shall have power, and it shall be 
their duty to take assurances, by deed, bond, or otherwise, of any land, 
lots, money, or other property which hath or may be offered for the use 
and benefit of the said county, either for the purpose of erecting public 
buildings, or for the support of an academy or other public use. 

" Approved — the eighth day of April, a.d. one thousand eight hun- 
dred and twenty-nine. 

" J. Andw. Shulze." 



In accordance with the provisions of this act these men met at the 
house of Joseph Barnett on the first Monday of September, 1829, and 
located the site on the Waterford and Susquehanna turnpike, at the con- 
fluence of the Sandy Lick and North Fork, where they form the Red 
Bank, and named the place Brookville. 

The boundaries of the town as then laid out were as follows : Butler 
Alley, running east and west, north of the second (or old graveyard), 
thence east, taking in the mills and dam of Robert P. pjarr, now Heidrick, 
Matson & Co. On the west was an alley, now east of the Presbyterian 
church, down that alley to Water Street, taking in or including " Hunt's 
Point," thence along Water Street to Pickering Street, and across Red 
Bank, near the bridge, and out Pickering Street to lot No. 25, and thence 
to the Sandy Lick. 

193 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

' An Act to authorize the Provisional County of Jefferson, to 
ELECT County Commissioners, and for Other Purposes. 

" Section i. (The citizens to elect three County Commissioners and 
three Auditors on the second Tuesday of October next :) 

'^Provided, that the largest in vote of the said County Commission- 
ers, and also the lowest in vote of the said County Auditors, shall only 
serve one year, the next lowest two years, whose places respectively shall 
be supplied according to the laws of this Commonwealth. Provided 
always, That all and singular the costs and expenses in laying out and 
opening roads, all costs chargeable to the county of Jefferson, arising 
from criminal prosecutions instituted against persons within said county, 
and all other costs and expenses incidental to said county, and which of 
right should be paid by the same, on account of the jurisdiction of the 
several Courts of Indiana County, and the authority of the judges thereof 
extending over the said county of Jefferson, shall be paid by the said 
county of Jefferson, on warrants drawn by the Commissioners of Indiana 
County, and countersigned by the Commissioners of the county of Jeffer- 
son. 

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
it shall and may be lawful for the said Commissioners of the county of Jef- 
ferson, or their successors, to call on the Commissioners of the county of 
Indiana for the purpose of examining, liquidating, and receiving such 
balances as shall be found due to the said county of Jefferson, and if, on 
such examination, it be found that a balance is due from the county of 
Jefferson to the county of Indiana, then it shall be the duty of the Com- 
missioners of Indiana County to call on the Commissioners of Jefferson 
County and receive said balance. 

" Section 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the said County Commissioners and Auditors so elected shall hold their 
office and transact the public business as Commissioners and Auditors of 
said county at such place as shall be fixed upon by a majority of the 
Commissioners first elected in said county of Jefferson, until the seat of 
justice is ascertained, and thereafter at the seat of justice. 

" Section 4. And be it furtJier enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
so much of any act or acts of the General Assembly of this Common- 
wealth as is altered or supplied by this act be, and the same is, hereby 
repealed. 

" Passed 21st January, 1824." 

^ ^ ^li >,i ^ ^ JfC i^ >JC 

PIONEER COMMISSIONERS, TREASURERS, AUDITORS, COLLECTORS, 
AND ASSESSORS— SATURDAY AFTERNOON A TIME TO PREPARE 
FOR SUNDAY. 

In pursuance of this act of Assembly, approved January 21, 1824, 
granting to the provisional county of Jefferson the privilege of electing 

194 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

its own commissioners, auditors, etc., an election was held the 12th day 
of October, 1824. Andrew Barnett was duly elected commissioner of 
Jefferson County for three years, John Lucas was duly elected for two 
years, and John W. Jenks was elected for one year, the election of these 
three being certified to by Alexander Taylor, prothonotary of Indiana 
and Jefferson Counties. Andrew Barnett and John Lucas took the oath 
of office before Joseph McCullough, of Pine Creek township, Friday, 
October 29, and John W. Jenks before John Bell, Esq., of Perry town- 
ship, on the 3d day of November, 1824. 

November 12, 1824, Barnett, Lucas, and Jenks met at the home of 
Joseph Barnett, in Pine Creek township, and organized as a board. Ira 
White was appointed clerk for one year at one dollar a day for the " time 
employed in the office." A room was rented in Barnett's Inn for an 
office " at the rate of one dollar a week for the time occupied," " and a 
closet in said room to be in the use of the county continually." 

On the i6th day of February, 1825, John INIatson, Sr., was appointed 
county treasurer. 

The pioneer county auditors were elected in 1825, — viz., Thomas 
Robinson, James Corbett, and Alonzo Baldwin. They were sworn in 
before Joseph McCullough, Esq., January 2, 1826. 

The pioneer assessors and collectors under the commissioners for 
Jefferson County were, in 1825: Pine Creek — assessor, James Shields; 
collector, John Barnett ; Perry — assessor, Elijah Heath ; collector, Isaac 
McKinley. 

The pioneer contract to supply the public buildings with wood and 
coal for fuel was in November, 1831, for one year, by Joseph Clements, 
for thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents. As the county buildings had 
only ten-plate stoves, wood, three feet in length, and no coal, was sup- 
plied under this contract. 

Previous to and as late as 1850 it was the rule for mill-men, woods- 
men, and laboring men generally to stop work every Saturday at noon. 
The idea was to better prepare for the observance of the Sabbath. As 
far as my observation reminds me, I can assure you that spiritualizing was 
practised freely on these Saturday afternoons. 

COPY OF DEED DELIVERING GROUND FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSES. 

"John Pickering ,?/ «:/. ^ Deed dated July 31st, 1830. 

to [-Recorded in Deed Book No. i, at 

Commissioners of Jefferson Co. J page 133. 

" And Whereas, The said John Pickering, with the approbation and 
consent of a majority of the said Company, being the parties of the sec- 
ond part hereto, which consent is signified by their becoming parties to 
this indenture, for and in consideration of the seat of justice for Jefferson 

195 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

County being established upon the said tract of land, did agree {inter 
alia) to grant and convey unto the said parties of the third part, and 
their successors in office, ground for the public buildings, and also for 
churches and a public burying-ground, as also ten inlots in the town to 
be laid out upon said tract of land. 

"And Whereas, The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, by an act passed on the second day of April, a.d. one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty, did establish the seat of justice for 
said county of Jefferson at the town of Brookville, to be laid out upon 
said tract of land, and thereby authorize and empower the said parties of 
the third part to receive {inter alia) from the party of the first part a deed 
in fee simple for the purposes above mentioned. 

" JVow this Indenture ]]ltnesseth, That the said John Pickering, as 
well as for and iu consideration of the sum of one dollar, lawful money 
of the United States to him in hand paid by the said Thomas McKee, 
Thomas Lucas, and Elijah Heath, Commissioners of Jefferson County, at 
and before the ensealing and delivery hereof, the receipt whereof is 
hereby acknowledged, hath granted, bargained, and sold, aliened, en- 
feofed, released, and confirmed, and by these presents doth grant, bar- 
gain, and sell, alien, enfeof, release, and confirm unto the said Thomas 
McKee, Thomas Lucas, and Elijah Heath, Commissioners of Jefferson 
County, and their successors in office, all that square or piece of ground 
in the said town of Brookville, situated, lying between, and bounded by 
Pickering Street, Market Street, Chestnut Alley, and Court Alley, and 
marked in the general plan of said town, Public Square, and also the 
outlots known and numbered in the general plan of the same by the 
numbers twelve (12) and thirteen (13). And also all those ten inlots of 
ground known and numbered in the general plan of said town by the 
numbers thirty-four (34), thirty-five (35), thirty-six (36), thirty-seven 
(37), thirty-eight (38), sixty-four (64), sixty-five (65), sixty-six (66), 
sixty-seven (67), and sixty-eight (68), together with the privileges and 
appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining. To 
have and to hold the same to the said Thomas McKee, Thomas Lucas, 
and Elijah Heath, Commissioners of Jefferson County, and their suc- 
cessors in office, to the only proper use and behoof of the said Thomas 
McKee, Thomas Lucas, and Elijah Heath, Commissioners of Jefi"erson 
County, and their successors in office, forever. In trust, nevertheless, 
and to and for the uses and purposes hereinafter declared, — that is to 
say, that the said square shall be and remain for the use of the Public 
Buildings. That outlet Number twelve (12) shall be and remain for the 
l^urpose of erecting churches or houses of public worship thereon for any 
denomination that sees proper to build thereon. That outlot Number 
thirteen (13) shall be and remain a public burying-ground. That as to 
the said ten inlots before mentioned and described, the said parties of 

196 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the third part and their successors in office shall sell and dispose of the 
same and pay the proceeds thereof into the Treasury of said county, to 
be applied towards the erection of the public buildings in the Town of 
Brookville. 

" In witness whereof the said parties have hereunto set their hands 
and seals the day and year first above written. 

"Jno. Pickering, Trusfec. [L. S.] 
Jno. Pickering, Executor. [L. S.] 
OcTAVius Pickering, Executor. [L. S.] 
" Thomas A. Dexter, 
Samuel Hunt, 

" Witnesses to the signature of John Pickering and Octavius 
Pickering. 

" Nich's Fish. [L. S.] 
Leonard Kip. [L. S.] 
Maria I. Kip. [L. S.] 
" David Clyde, Clerk. 

Wm. H. Maxwell, Counsellor and Commissioner, Nnv York. 
"Witnesses to the signatures of Nich's Fish : Wm. Johnson, Leonard 
Kip, Leonard Kip, as attorney, and Maria I. Kip, his wife. 

"Leonard Kip. [L. S.] 
" Attorney for all the heirs of Duncan IngraJiafn. 
"Redwood Fisher, Executor. [L. S.] 
"Witnesses to the signature of Redwood Fisher: Andrew Geyer 
and J. C. Wikoff. 

"Jaboy M. Fisher, Executor. [L. S.] 
" Witnesses to the signature of Jaboy M. Fisher : Andrew Geyer and 
Ralph Smith. 

"Ann Wikoff. [L. S.] 
"Witnesses to the signature of Ann Wikoff: Andrew Geyer and 
J. C. Wikoff." 

The pioneer court-house was contracted for in 1S30 and finished in 
1833. The county records show this "Article of Agreement, made the 
14th day of December, 1830, between Thomas Lucas and Robert Andrews, 
Commissioners of Jefferson County, of the first part, and John Lucas, of 
Jefferson County, and Robert Barr, of the county of Indiana, of the 
second part. The party of the second part agrees to build court-house, 
two offices, one fire-proof, within two years from the ist day of January 
next. The Commissioners, on their part, agree to pay contractors the 
sum of three thousand dollars, in manner as follows: two thousand dol- 
lars as the work progresses, and one thousand dollars in full on the ist 
day of January, 1833, to be paid out of the funds arising from the sale 

197 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of lots in said town of Brookville, if there shall be sufficient ; if not, to 
be made up out of the county funds. 

(Signed) "Thomas Lucas, 

Robert Andrews, 

" Commissioners. 
" John Lucas, 
Robert Barr, 

" Contracfors. 
" Witnesses : 

" William M. Kennedy, 
James Hall." 

Our first jail was a stone structure, built of common stone, in 1831. 
It was two stories high, was situated on the northeast corner of the public 
square lot, near Joseph Darr's residence, and fronting on Pickering Street. 
Daniel Elgin was the contractor. The building was divided into eight 
rooms, two down-stairs and two up-stairs for jail proper, and two down- 
stairs and two up-stairs for the sheriff's residence and office. The sheriff 
occupied the north part. It cost eighteen hundred and twenty-four 
dollars and twenty-three cents. 

The pioneer academy in Jefferson County was authorized by an act of 
the Legislature, approved April 13, 1838. This act authorized the treas- 
urer of the Commonwealth to subscribe two thousand dollars, to be ex- 
pended in building an academy building in Brookville, Pennsylvania. 
The trustees appointed by said act were John J. Y. Thompson, C. A. 
Alexander, Thomas Hastings, Levi G. Clover, John Pierce, and Richard 
Arthurs. In 1841 the Legislature authorized the commissioners of Jeffer- 
son County to subscribe five hundred dollars, and five hundred dollars 
being raised by subscription of citizens, this made a fund of three thou- 
sand dollars to erect the building. 

The site selected was the lot on the corner of Jefferson and Barnett 
Streets, and the lot was kindly donated for this purpose by John Picker- 
ing. The lot was in a state of nature then, being covered with pine- 
trees. The contractors were Robert P. Barr, Thomas M. Barr, and 
Robert Larrimer. The building was of brick, and was completed in 
1843. Professor J. M. Coleman was the first to teach classics and high 
mathematics in this institution. 



198 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM ITS INCEPTION INTRODUCTION INTO AMER- 
ICA — STATE EFFORT— HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THE STATE — SCHOOLS 
OF JEFFERSON COUNTY PROGRESS OF EDUCATION, ETC. 

As an introduction to this chapter, I cannot do better than reproduce 
an extract from a speech delivered by myself before a convention of Jef- 
ferson County school directors, — viz. : 

" Gentlemen of the Convention, — I thank you for this honor. I 
highly appreciate it. As the representatives of thirty-two school districts, 
two hundred and forty schools, and twelve thousand pupils, we have met 
this day to consider modes and methods by which we can best advance 
the cause of education. This is wise and patriotic. Perhaps it might be 
well as an introduction to our work to review a little history as to the 
origin and present status of our common schools. Martin Luther, a Ger- 
man, was the first to advocate the public school system. This he did in 
1524, ably, vigorously, and boldly. He asserted that the ' government, as 
the natural guardian of all the young, has the right to compel the people 
to support schools.' He further said, 'Now, nothing is more necessary 
than the training of those who are to come after us and bear rule. ' The 
education of the young of all classes in free schools was one of the objects 
nearest Luther's heart. Scotland is the only other country of Europe 
that took an early interest in public school education. In 1560, John 
Knox urged the necessity of schools for the poor. These grand humane 
impulses of John Knox and other Scotch fathers have spread abroad, 
'wide as the waters be,' only to germinate, bud, and bloom into the 
grandest social, theological, and political conditions ever attained by 
man. But it remained for the Puritan fathers of New England (America) 
to completely develop the common school system of our time. In New 
England education early made great progress. Under the eaves of their 
church the Puritans always built a school-house. As early as 1635, Boston 
had a school for ' the teaching of all children with us.' In 1647, Massa- 
chusetts made the support of schools compulsory and education universal 
and free by the enactment of the following law, — viz. : ' It is therefore 
ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath in- 
creased them to the number of fifty householders, shall then forthwith 
appoint one within the town to teach all such children as shall resort to 
him to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents 
or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general by way of 

199 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

supply, as the major part of those who order the prudentials of the town 
shall appoint, provided those that send their children be not oppressed 
by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other towns. ' 
In Connecticut, in 1665, every town that did not keep a school for three 
months in the year was liable to a fine. On April i, a.d. 1834, one hun- 
dred and eighty-seven years later than the enactment of the common 
school law of Massachusetts, the law creating the common school system 
of Pennsylvania was approved by George Wolf, governor. Our second 
State superintendent of public instruction was appointed under this law. 
His name was Thomas H. Burrowes. 

"The foundation of our common school system was built by the 
convention to form a State constitution in 1790. The article as incor- 
porated in that document reads as follows : 

" ' Section i. The Legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, 
provide by law for the establishment of schools throughout the State, in 
such a manner that the poor may be taught gratis. 

"'Section 2. The arts and sciences shall be promoted in one or 
more seminaries of learning. ' 

" This educational article was also incorporated into the constitution 
of 1838. But little effort was made under the first constitution by legis- 
lative bodies to establish schools under the first section. Their only aim 
seemed to be to aid the churches and neighborhood schools to carry on 
the work they had been doing for a hundred years. The pioneer effort 
by the Legislature seems to have been in 1794, when, on December 8, 
1794, a committee was appointed by the House to report a proper mode 
of carrying into effect that part of the governor's message in regard to 
schools. The committee reported as follows : 

'^ ^ Resolved, That schools may be established throughout the State, 
in such a manner that the poor may be taught gratis. 

" '■Resolved, That one-fifth part of the expense necessary to support 
the masters of said schools be paid out of the general funds of the State. 

'■'■'■ Resolved, That the remaining four-fifths of the said expense be 
paid in each county, respectively, by means of a county tax. 

'■'■'■ Resolved, That the said schools be put under the direction of 
trustees in each county, subject to such limitations and regulations, as to 
the distribution of their funds, the appointment of masters, and their 
general arrangements, as shall be provided by law. 

'' ^ Resolved, That the schools thus established shall be free schools, 
and that at least spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic shall be taught 
therein. 

" 'Resolved, That ten thousand dollars a year be appropriated out of 
the funds of this Commonwealth to encourage the establishment of acad- 
emies, in which grammar, the elements of mathematics, geography, and 
history shall be taught. 

200 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" 'Resolved, That the said sum be apportioned amongst the city and 
several counties of the State in proportion to their respective population. 

" ' Resolved, That whenever a sum sufficient, with the addition of the 
sums proposed to be given by the public, to support an academy for the 
purpose aforesaid shall have been subscribed, or contributed, the addi- 
tional sum of one hundred dollars a year shall be given out of the public 
treasury in aid of such academy. 

" ' Resolved, That when the number of academies in any county shall 
be so great that the sum to which such county is entitled becomes insuffi- 
cient to afford one hundred dollars to each, it shall be divided by the 
trustees aforesaid among the whole of such academies, in proportion to 
the number of masters employed and scholars taught, and the length of 
time in each during which each academy is so kept and supported. 

" 'Resolved, That whenever a sum is subscribed and contributed suf- 
ficient, if added to the income of any of the inferior schools, to procure 
the instruction contemplated to be given in the academies, such school 
shall become an academy and receive the additional bounty of one hun- 
dred dollars as aforesaid, subject to a reduction in the manner aforesaid.' 

" A bill was prepared in accordance with these resolutions and passed 
both branches, but was lost in conference committee. This was forty 
years before the enactment of 1834." 

THE PIONEER ACT. 

On the ist day of March, 1802, Governor McKean approved the 
pioneer law of this State making a provision for the education of the poor, 
the title being "An Act to provide for the Education of Poor Children 
gratis." 

" Whereas, By the first section of the seventh article of the Constitu- 
tion of this Commonwealth it is directed ' That the Legislature shall as 
soon as conveniently may be provide by law for the establishment of 
schools throughout the State, in such manner as that the poor may be 
taught gratis ;' therefore, 

"Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passing of 
this act the Guardians and Overseers of the Poor of the City of Philadel- 
phia, the District of Southwark, and Townships and Boroughs within this 
Commonwealth, shall ascertain the names of all those children whose 
parents or guardians they shall judge to be unable to pay for their school- 
ing, to give notice in writing to such parent or guardian that provision is 
made by law for the education of their children or the children under 
their care, and that they have a full and free right to subscribe at the 
usual rates and send them to any school in their neighborhood, giving 
notice thereof as soon as may be to the Guardians or Overseers of the 
term for which they have subscribed, the number of scholars and the 
rate of tuition ; and in those Townships where there are no Guardians or 
14 201 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Overseers of the Poor, the Supervisors of the Highways shall perform the 
duties herein required to be done by the Guardians or Overseers of the 
Poor. 

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
every Guardian or Overseer of the Poor, or Supervisor of the Highways, 
as the case may be, in any township or place where any such child or 
children shall be sent to school as aforesaid, shall enter in a book the 
name or names, age, and length of time such child or children shall have 
been so sent to school, together with the amount of schooling, school- 
books, and stationery, and shall levy and collect in the same way and man- 
ner and under the same regulations as poor taxes or road taxes are levied 
and collected a sufficient sum of money from their respective townships, 
boroughs, wards, or districts to discharge such expenses, together with 
the sum of five per cent, for their trouble. 

" Section 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Guardians or Overseers of the Poor for the time being, or Supervisors 
of the Highways, as the case may be, shall use all diligence and prudence 
in carrying this act into effect, and shall settle their accounts in the same 
way and manner as by the existing laws of the State, the Guardians, Over- 
seers of the Poor, and Supervisors of the Poor, and Supervisors of the 
Highways are authorized and required to settle their accounts. 

" Section 4. And be it further enacted ly the authority aforesaid. That 
this act shall continue in force for the term of three years, and from thence 
to the end of the next sitting of the General Assembly and no longer." 

It was found that the act of 1802 was unsatisfactory, and, in the hope 
of betterment, this act of 1804 was passed : 

"An Act to provide for the more Effectual Education of the 
Children of the Poor gratis. 

"Whereas, The law passed the first day of March, Anno Domini 
one thousand and eight hundred and two, entitled ' An Act to provide for 
the Education of Poor Children gratis,' has not been found by experi- 
ence to answer the constitutional purposes intended by it ; therefore, 

"Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passing of 
this act it shall be enjoined as a duty on all school-masters and school- 
mistresses teaching reading and writing in the English or German lan- 
guages and arithmetic to receive into their schools and teach as aforesaid 
all such poor children as shall be recommended to them by the Overseers 
of the Poor, or where there are no Overseers of the Poor, by a Justice of 
the Peace and two respectable freeholders of the city, district, or town- 
ship where such school is kept. 

"Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That upon the performance of any such service by any school-master or 
school-mistress as aforesaid, the Overseers of the Poor or Justices of the 

202 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Peace and freeholders who have recommended as aforesaid, shall certify 
to the Commissioners of the proper county or city the names of such 
poor children, the time they have been respectively taught, and the usual 
rate of schooling paid for other children at the same school, who shall 
examine such certificate, and, finding it correct, shall draw an order 
in favor of such school-master or school-mistress for the amount on the 
treasurer of the proper county or city, to be paid out of the county 
stock. 

" Section 3. And be it further enaeted by the authority aforesaid, 
That this act shall continue in force for three years, and from thence to 
the end of the next session of the General Assembly and no longer, and 
the act entitled ' An Act to provide for the Education of Poor Children 
gratis,' shall be and hereby is repealed." 

That this act also was considered an incomplete fulfilment of the con- 
stitution appears from the message of the governor the next year after its 
passage. 

Agitation and discussion over the law resulted in the act of 1S09, 
better drawn, with the same title and aim. 

THE LAW OF 1809. 
''An Act to provide for the Education of the Poor gratis. 
" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsyh'ania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That it shall be the duty of 
the Commissioners of the several counties within this Commonwealth, at 
the time of issuing their precepts to the assessors, annually to direct and 
require the assessor of each and every township, ward, and district to re- 
ceive from the parents the names of all the children between the ages of 
five and twelve years who reside therein, and whose parents are unable to 
pay for their schooling ; and the Commissioners when they hold appeals 
shall hear all persons who may apply for alterations or additions of names 
in the said list, and make all such alterations as to them shall appear just 
and reasonable, and agreeably to the true intent and meaning of this act ; 
and after adjustment they shall transmit a correct copy thereof to the re- 
spective assessor, requiring him to inform the parents of the children 
therein contained that they are at liberty to send them to the most con- 
venient school free of expense ; and the said assessor, for any neglect of 
the above duty, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars, to be sued 
for by any person, and recovered as debts of that amount are now recov- 
erable, and to be paid into the county treasury, for county purposes : 
Provided always, That the names of no children whose education is 
otherwise provided for shall be received by the assessors of any township 
or district. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Section 2. ^//^/ />e it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the said assessor shall send a list of the names of the children aforesaid to 
the teachers of schools within his township, ward, or district, whose duty 
it shall be to teach all such children as may come to their schools in the 
same manner as other children are taught, and each teacher shall keep a 
day-book, in which he shall enter the number of days each child entitled 
to the provisions of this act shall be taught, and he shall also enter in 
said book the amount of all stationery furnished for the use of said child, 
from which book he shall make out his account against the county, on 
oath or affirmation, agreeably to the usual rates of charging for tuition in 
the said school, subject to the examination and revision of the trustees of 
the school where there are any ; but where there are no trustees, to three 
reputable subscribers to the school ; which account, after being so exam- 
ined or revised, he shall present to the County Commissioners, who, if 
they approve thereof, shall draw their order on the county treasurer for 
the amount, which he is hereby authorized and directed to pay of any 
moneys in the treasury. 

"Approved — the fourth day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
and nine. 

" Simon Snyder." 

Each of these acts compelled parents to publish to the world their 
poverty and to send their children to school as paupers. 

The method of organizing schools and hiring masters under these 
laws was as follows : A school-meeting was called by a notice posted in 
the district. The inhabitants then met and elected in their own way 
three of their number to act as a committee or as trustees with power to 
hire a master or mistress, and this committee executed a supervision 
over the school. A rate bill was always made out by the master and 
handed to the committee, who collected the moneys and paid it to the 
master. 

The pioneer and early modes of school discipline were the cat-o'- 
nine-tails and the rod, carrying the offender on the back of a pupil and 
then flogging him, setting the boys with the girls and the girls with the 
boys, fastening a split stick to the ear or the nose, laying the scholar 
over the knee and applying the ferule to the part on which he sat. These 
punishments lasted for years after the common schools came into use. 
For the benefit of young teachers I will give the mode of correction. 
The masters invariably kept what was called toms, or, more vulgarly, 
cat-o'-nine-tails, all luck being in odd numbers. This instrument of tor- 
ture was an oaken stick about twelve inches long to which was attached 
a piece of raw-hide cut in strips, twisted while wet, and then dried. It 
was freely used for correction, and those who were thus corrected did 
not soon forget it, and not a few carried the marks during life. Another 

204 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and no less cruel instrument was a green cow-hide. Comment upon the 
above is useless, as the words cruelty and barbarity will suggest them- 
selves to the minds of all who read it. For our text-books we had 
Dilworth's and the "United States Speller," and our readers were the 
good old Bible and Testament. The " Western Calculator" was all the 
arithmetic that was in use, and the one who got through the "rule of 
three' ' was called tolerably good in figures, and the lucky wight who got 
through the book was considered a graduate in mathematics. Grammar 




Governor Joseph Ritner. 

and geography were not taught in common schools, being considered 
higher branches. 

Not one of the governors of the State during the time the law of 1809 
was in force believed it met the requirements of the constitution, hence 
in 1S24 an act was passed repealing it and another one substituted. The 
new act was violently opposed, never Avent into effect, was repealed in 
1S26, and the act of 1809 was re-enacted. The policy enforced in our 
State for fifty years after the Revolutionary War was the endowment of 
academies and the free instruction of poor children in church and neigh- 
borhood schools. 

Governor Wolf, in 1833-34, made education the leading topic of his 
message. Among other things he said, — 

" To provide by law ' for the establishment of schools throughout the 
State, and in such a manner that the poor may be taught gratis,' is one 

205 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of the public measures to which I feel it to be my duty now to call your 
attention, and most solemnly to press upon your consideration. Our 
apathy and indifference in reference to this subject becomes the more 
conspicuous when we reflect that whilst we are expending millions for 
the physical condition of the State, we have not hitherto appropriated a 
single dollar that is available for the intellectual improvement of its youth, 
which, in a moral and political point of view, is of tenfold more conse- 
quence, either as respects the moral influence of the State or its political 
power and safety. 







Governor George Wolf. 



"According to the returns of the last census, we have in Pennsyl- 
vania five hundred and eighty-one thousand one hundred and eighty 
children under the age of fifteen years, and one hundred and forty-nine 
thousand and eighty-nine between the ages of fifteen and twenty years, 
forming an aggregate of seven hundred and thirty thousand two hundred 
and sixty-nine juvenile persons of both sexes under the age of twenty 
years, most of them requiring more or less instruction. And yet with all 
this numerous youthful population growing up around us, who, in a few 
years, are to be our rulers and our law-givers, the defenders of our country 
and the pillars of the State, and upon whose education will depend in 
great measure the preservation of our liberties and the safety of the re- 
public, we have neither schools established for their instruction nor 
provision made by law for establishing them as enjoined by the con- 
stitution." 

206 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1827, William Audenreid, then a senator from Schuylkill County, 
introduced a bill into the Senate, the title of which was, " To provide a 
Fund in support of a General System of Education in Pennsylvania." 
This bill passed the Senate that session, but was defeated in the House, 
but being urged and pressed every season it became a law April 2, 1831. 
This law entitled Senator Audenreid to be called the author of our school 
system. The law reads as follows : 

"Section i. That there shall be and there hereby is established a 
fund, to be denominated a Common School Fund, and the Secretary of 
the Commonwealth, the Auditor- General, and the Secretary of the Land- 
Office shall be Commissioners thereof, who, or a majority of them, in 
addition to the duties they now perform, shall receive and manage such 
moneys and other things as shall pertain to such fund, in the most advan- 
tageous manner, and shall receive and hold to the use of said fund all 
such gifts, grants, and donations as may be made ; and that said Com- 
missioners shall keep a correct record of their proceedings, which, to- 
gether with all papers and documents relative to said fund, shall be kept 
and preserved in the office of the Auditor-General. 

" Section 2. That from and after the passage of this act, all moneys 
due and owing this Commonwealth by the holders of all unpatented 
lands ; also all moneys secured to the Commonwealth by mortgages or 
liens on land for the purchase- money of the same ; also all moneys paid 
to the State Treasurer on any application hereafter entered, or any war- 
rant hereafter granted for land, as also fees received in the land-office, as 
well as all moneys received in pursuance of the provisions of the fourth 
section of an act entitled ' An Act to increase the County Rates and 
Levies for the Use of the Commonwealth,' approved the twenty-fifth day 
of March, 1831, be and the same are hereby transferred and assigned to 
the Common School Fund ; and that at the expiration of twelve months 
after the passage of this act, and regularly at the expiration of every 
twelve months thereafter, the State Treasurer shall report to the said 
Commissioners the amount of money thus received by him during the 
twelve months last preceding, together with a certificate of the amount 
thereof, and that the same is held by the Commonwealth for the use of 
the Common School Fund, at an interest of five per cent. 

" Section 3. That the interest of the moneys belonging to said fund 
shall be added to the principal as it becomes due, and the whole amount 
thereof shall be held by the Commonwealth, and remain subject to the 
provisions of an act entitled ' An Act relative to the Pennsylvania Canal 
and Railroad,' approved the twenty-second of April, 1829, until the in- 
terest thereof shall amount to the sum of one hundred thousand dollars 
annually, after which the interest shall be annually distributed and ap- 
plied to the support of common schools throughout this Commonwealth, 
in such a manner as shall hereafter be provided by law." 

207 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

THE PIONEER SCHOOLS-SCHOOL-MASTERS AND SCHOOL- 
HOUSES. 

"The pioneer school house in the southern part of the county was 
built of logs, in the fall of 1820, near John Bell's, a little more than a 
mile northeast of where Perrysville stands. It was built after the fashion 
of the first school-house in the county, with paper instead of window- 




Pioneer school-house. 



glass, boards pinned to the wall for desks, floors and seats made of 
puncheons, and fireplace along one end. John Postlethwait, Sr., John 
Bell, Archibald Hadden, Hugh McKee, and James Stewart were the prin- 
cipal citizens engaged in organizing and starting the school. John B. 
Henderson, of Indiana County, taught the school in this part of the 
county, in that pioneer house, the first winter after it was built. The 
Testament, Bible, Catechism, and the ' United States Spelling- Book' 
were used as text-books in the school. Ira White, a Yankee from the 
State of New York, succeeded Mr. Henderson as master. Some time 
afterwards a school was taught by Crawford Gibson, in a house near the 
county line. Some parties claim that Gibson taught before Henderson, 
about a mile south of Perrysville. Somewhat later a school was taught 
by John Knox, in a log house across the creek, southeast of Perrysville. 
They paid him with grain, in part at least. James C. Neal, Sr., then a 
young man, hauled a load of grain with a yoke of oxen, to pay Mr. Knox 
for teaching, from Perrysville to some place near Troy, a distance of about 
twenty miles, through the woods. 

"The pioneer school held in Punxsutawney was opened by Andrew 
Bowman, about 1823, in a house then owned by John B. Henderson. 
Dr. Jenks, Charles Barclay, Judge Heath, Rev. David Barclay, Mr. Black, 
and others took an active part in starting the school. They hired a mas- 
ter by the year. The tuition for the small pupils was twelve dollars each, 
and for the large ones fifty dollars a year. The first school- house was 

208 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

built in Punxsutawney by the above-named gentlemen about 1827, where 
the Baptist church stands. Hugh Kenworthy was the first man who was 
well educated that was employed as a master there. The next master 
was Dr. Robert Cunningham. After him came Thomas Cunningham, 
since Judge Cunningham. 

" The pioneer master in Rose township was Robert Knox. When he 
taught the house was not floored and the pupils sat on the sleepers. The 
venerable Joseph Magifen, still living, taught a six months' term in 1827. 
Tuition, fifty cents a month per scholar and to board with the scholars. 

"A school was taught in the vicinity of Brockwayville in 1S28, — 
then Ridgway township,— for which the master was to receive twelve 
dollars per month in maple-sugar. 

" Alexander Cochran taught the pioneer school in what is now Wash- 
ington township, in 1831, in a school-house near the Beechwoods grave- 
yard. Messrs Cooper, Keys, Mcintosh, and the Smiths were instrumental 
in organizing the school. 

'* Brookville's pioneer school was taught by Alexander McKnight, 
father of Dr. McKnight, in a small brick school-house in 1832-33. 

" A pioneer school was commenced within the present limits of Union 
township about 1834 or 1835. James Barr taught first, in the summer. 
There were about twenty pupils, and the tuition was fifty cents a month 
for each pupil. Samuel Davison, Robert McFarland, John W. Monks, 
John Hughes, and Robert Tweedy were prominent in organizing the 
school. 

" In every locality in the county in which the population was dense 
enough to support a school one seems to have been organized previous 
to the common school system." — Blose. 

The creation of the common schools in Pennsylvania was not the 
work of any one man or set of men, nor was it imported from any other 
State. It was the outgrowth of freedom. In a book like mine I cannot 
enumerate all the glorious workers in the fight. The Pennsylvania So- 
ciety for the Promotion of Public Schools, organized in Philadelphia in 
1827, was a great factor in the work. Senator Audenreid, Dr. Anderson, 
and Senator Smith, of Delaware County; N. B. Fetterman, of Bedford; 
Samuel Breck, a senator from Philadelphia ; and Thaddeus Stevens, all 
deserve to be forever remembered for their able and untiring labor in 
this direction. 

The pioneer school in the United States for the education of teachers 
was the model school of Philadelphia, established and opened in 1838. 
The finest and most costly educational structures in the world are the 
Girard College buildings in Philadelphia. 

In the session of 1S34, Samuel Breck, a senator from Philadelphia, 
was made chairman of a joint committee on education. The members of 
this committee on the part of the Senate were Samuel Breck, Charles B. 

209 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Penrose, William Jackson, Almon H. Read, and William Boyd ; of the 
House, Samuel Anderson, William Patterson, James Thompson, James 
Clarke, John Wiegand, Thomas H. Crawford, and Wilmer Worthington. 
This committee secured all possible information on the subject from all 
sources. The author of the bill as passed was Samuel Breck. It was but 
little discussed and met with but little opposition in the Legislature. 

THE LAW OF 1834 AND ITS WORKINGS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

*' Whereas, It is enjoined by the constitution, as a solemn duty which 
cannot be neglected without a disregard of the moral and political safety 
of the people ; and 

" Whereas, The fund for the common school purposes, under the act 
of the 2d of April, 1831, will, on the 4th of April next, amount to the 
sum of $546,563.72, and will soon reach the sum of $2,000,000, when it 
will produce at five per cent, an increase of $100,000, which, by said act, 
is to be paid for the support of common schools ; and 

" Whereas, Provisions should be made by law for the distribution of 
the benefits of this fund to the people of the respective counties of the 
Commonwealth ; therefore, 

" Section i. Be if enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealtii of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That the city and county of 
Philadelphia, and every other county in this Commonwealth, shall each 
form a school division, and that every ward, township, and borough, 
within the several school divisions, shall each form a school district. 

"Section 2. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of each county, thirty 

days previous to the third Friday in September of the current year, 1834, 

to give notice, by proclamation, to the citizens of each school district to 

hold elections in their respective townships, wards, and boroughs at the 

places where they hold their elections for supervisors, town councils, and 

constables, to choose six citizens, of each school district, to serve as 

school directors of said districts respectively ; which elections shall, on 

the said day, be conducted and held in the same manner as elections for 

supervisors and constables are by law held and conducted ; and on the 

day of the next annual election of supervisors in the respective townships, 

and of constables in the respective cities of the Commonwealth, a new 

election for directors shall take place in the said townships, boroughs, 

and cities, at which election, and annually thereafter at that time, and in 

manner and form aforesaid, two directors shall be chosen, who shall serve 

for three years ; the sheriff giving thirty days' notice previous to such 

election." 

OF MANUAL SCHOOLS. 

"Section 10. Whereas, Manual labor maybe advantageously con- 
nected with intellectual moral instruction in some or all of the schools, it 

210 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

shall be the duty of the school directors to decide whether such connec- 
tion in their respective districts shall take place or not ; and if decided 
affirmatively, they shall have power to purchase materials and employ 
artisans for the instruction of the pupils in the useful branches of the 
mechanic arts, and where practicable, in agricultural pursuits : Provided, 
nevertheless. That no such connection shall take place in any common 
school, unless four out of the six directors shall agree thereto." 

Many of the sections were found to contain requirements that were 
crude, hence they were repealed in 1S36 and perfected. These referred 
to the building of school-houses, employing masters, locating houses, etc. 
No pay was allowed a director other than as a delegate to the county 

convention. 

PROCLAMATION— COMMON SCHOOLS. 

"Whereas, The act of Assembly approved ist April, 1834, and en- 
titled ' An Act to establish a General System of Education by Common 
Schools,' provides 'that the city and county of Philadelphia, and every 
other county in this Commonwealth, shall each form a school division, and 
that every ward, township, and borough within the several school divisions 
shall each form a school district : Provided, That any borough which is 
or may be connected with a township in the assessments of county rates 
and levies shall, with the same township, so long as it remains so con- 
nected, form a district, and each of said districts shall contain a com- 
petent number of common schools for the education of every child within 
the limits thereof, who shall apply either in person, or by his or her 
parents, guardian, or next friend, for admission and instruction.' 

"And Whereas, The said act further directs, 'that it shall be the 
duty of the sheriff of each county to give notice by proclamation to the 
citizens of each school district to hold elections in their respective town- 
ships, wards, and boroughs, on the third Friday of September next, at 
the places where they hold their elections for supervisors, town council, 
and constables are by law held and conducted.' 

" A'ow, therefore, I, William Clark, High Sheriff of the county of 
Jefferson, in pursuance of the duty enjoined on me by the above recited 
act, do issue this, my proclamation, giving notice to the citizens of said 
county, qualified as aforesaid, that an election will be held on the third 
Friday of September next, to choose six citizens residing therein, to serve 
as school directors of said districts respectively. 

" The electors of the borough of Brookville are to meet at the Court- 
House in said borough. 

"The electors of Rose township are to meet at John Lucas'. 

"The electors of the township of Pine Creek are to meet at Joseph 
Barnett's. 

"The electors of Barnett township are to meet at the house of Wil- 
liam Armstrons:. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The electors of Perry township are to meet at the house of Chris- 
topher Heterick. 

"The electors of Young township are to meet in Punxsutawney. 

"The electors of Ridgeway township are to meet at the house of 
James Gallagher. 

" Given under my hand at Brookville, this fifth day of August, one 

thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, and of the independence of the 

United States the fifty-eighth. 

" William Clark, 

''Sheriff. 
"Sheriff's Office, August 5, 1S34." 

PIONEER SCHOOL DIRECTORS IN THE COUNTY. 

Those elected under this proclamation and the law of 1S34 were: 

Rose township and Brookville borough — Alexander McKnight, James 
Green, James Linn, Robert Andrews, Irwin Robinson, Darius Carrier. 

Barnett township — Cyrus Blood, William Armstrong, Edwin For- 
sythe, Trumble Hunt, Alexander Murray, John Hunt. 

Pine Creek township — David Butler, John Lattimer, Andrew Barnett, 
William Cooper, Samuel Jones. 

Young township — John W. Jenks, AVilliam Campbell, Jos. Winslow. 

Perry township — John Philliber, William Postlethwait, Martin Shoff, 
Esq., William Marshall, Andrew Gibson, David Lewis. 

Ridgeway township — L. Wilmarth, James Gallagher, J. L. Gillis. 

As soon as these proclamations were made by the sheriff the liveliest 
discussion took place for and against the system. The majority of the 
citizens in most of the counties were against it. It was not so, however, 
in Jefferson, six of the districts adopting it. Nearly half of the nine 
hundred and eighty-seven districts in the State rejected it. Families 
quarrelled over and about it. In some districts a free-school man was 
ostracized. Life-long enmities were engendered. Several religious de- 
nominations placed themselves against this law, — Catholics, Episco- 
palians, Mennonites, Friends, and Lutherans. These were not opposed 
to education, but they believed in religious instruction and secular edu- 
cation, and that the two should go hand in hand, as their fathers had it. 
The Germans opposed it on account of a change in language. But the 
ignorant, the penurious, and the narrow-minded fought against it most 
bitterly, on account of supposed increased taxation. James Findlay was 
the pioneer superintendent of common schools. 

The school (juestion entered into the nomination and election of 
members for the session of 1834-35, and perhaps a majority of those 
elected were anti-school. But (Governor Wolf and friends of the com- 
mon school were undismayed, bold, and able, and braved the tempest 
of that session. Competent judges who witnessed that struggle in the 

212 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Legislature agree that had it not been for Thaddeus Stevens, a young 
member from Adams County, the law of 1834 would have been repealed, 
or only saved by a veto from the governor. This session ended the last 
bitter and great fight in the State and Legislature for common schools. 




Thaddeus Stevens. 

The ablest and most determined leaders of the anti-school were William 
Hopkins, of Washington County, and Henry W. Conrad, of Schuylkill. 
Children as late as 1842 were admitted to the schools at the age of 
four years. 



APPOINTMENT OF SCHOOL INSPECTORS UNDER THE LAW OF 1834. 

"Section 12. The several courts of quarter sessions of this Common- 
Avealth shall annually, at their first session, after the election of school 
directors, within their respective counties or divisions, appoint two com- 
petent citizens of each school district to be inspectors of the public school 
therein, established by this act, who shall be exempt during the perform- 
ance of the duties of their said office from militia duty, and from serving 
in any township or borough office. 

"Section 13. It shall be the duty of the school inspectors to visit 
every three months, and as much oftener as they may think proper, to 
inquire into the moral character, learning, and ability of the several 
teachers employed therein ; they shall have power to examine any per- 
sons wishing to be employed as a teacher, and of good moral character, 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

shall give him or her a certificate to that effect, naming therein the 
branches which he or she is found qualified to teach, certificates shall be 
valid for one year from the date thereof, and no longer ; and no person 
who shall not have obtained such certificate shall receive from the county 
treasury, or the treasury of the Commonwealth, any compensation for his 
services. 

"Section 14. The inspectors of any school division may meet at 
such times and places as they may deem expedient, and adopt such rules 
for the examination of teachers and schools, and prescribe such form or 
certificates, as they may deem necessary to produce uniformity in such 
examinations and certificates throughout the school division, and they 
may, if they deem it expedient, appoint days for the public examination 
of teachers to be examined in public, and said inspectors, or any one of 
them, may visit all district schools in their school division and examine 
the same. 

"Section 15. Whenever the inspectors meet together, as they are 
empowered by the preceding section, they shall organize themselves for 
the proper transaction of business, and each inspector shall be governed 
by the rules then adopted in his examinations and observe such forms in 
his certificates as shall be prescribed by the majority of the inspectors of 
the school division thus assembled, and no certificate of qualification 
shall be given by the inspectors, or any of them, to any teacher unless he 
or she shall be found qualified to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. 

"Section 16. The school inspectors shall minutely examine into the 
state and condition of the schools, both as respects the progress of the 
scholars in learning and the good order of the schools, and make an 
annual report to the superintendent of the public schools on or before the 
first Monday in November of the situation of the schools in their respec- 
tive districts, founded on their own observation and the report of the re- 
spective school directors ; to include the characters of the teachers ; the 
number of scholars admitted during the year in the several schools under 
their inspection ; the branches of study taught in each school ; the num- 
ber of days in the year during which each school shall have been kept 
open ; the cost of the school-house for either building, renting, or repair- 
ing, and all other costs that may have been incurred in maintaining the 
several schools in their respective districts, and also shall cause the same 
to be published in the school division, at the expense of the respective 

city or county." 

PIONEER STATE AID. 

" The first money received from the State for school purposes, by this 
county, was by an order drawn August 5, 1836, on the State Treasurer, 
Joseph Lawrence, Esq., to the Treasurer of Jefferson County, by Thomas 
H. lUirrowes, Superintendent of Common Schools, under an act entitled 
' .\n Act to establish a General System of Education by Common Schools,' 

214 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



passed on the ist of April, 1834, and a supplement thereto passed April 
15, 1S35, for one hundred and four dollars and ninety-four cents, for the 
year 1835. Also, on the same date, one hundred and four dollars and 
ninety-four cents, for the year 1S36. 




Thomas H. Burrowes. 



" The following table will show the townships receiving the State aid, 
the officers of their school boards, the number of the warrants, and the 
amounts received : 



No. of 
Warrant. 
Barnett township — W. P. Armstrong, President ; Cyrus 

Blood, Treasurer and Secretary 76 

Eldred township — Thomas Hall, President; Wm. M. 

Hindman, Treasurer; John W. Monks, Secretary . . 37 

Perry township — Thomas Williams, President ; Isaac 

Lewis, Treasurer; John PhilJiber, Secretary .... 209 
Pine Creek township — Wm. Cooper, President; Samuel 

Jones, Treasurer; A. Barnett, Secretary 103 

Ridgeway township -J. Gallagher, President ; L. Wil- 

marth, Treasurer and Secretary 40 

Rose township — Wm. Kelso, President; B. McCreight, 

Treasurer; C. A. Alexander, Secretary 252 

Snyder township — A. Brockway, President; A. Ross, 

Treasurer; Wm. Shaw, Secretary 41 

Young township — Wm. Campbell, President; J. W. 

Jenks, Treasurer; J. Winslow, Secretary 146 



215 



State 
Aid. 

$49.20 
23-95 
3531 

66.68 
25.89 
163.14 
26.54 
94.52 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" It would seem from the above table that it includes the appropria- 
tion of I S3 7 also." 

ORGANIZATION UNDER THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM IN 
JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

" From the best information to be had, it appears that in 1837 Cyrus 
Crouch taught the first school in Brookville under the common school 
system. He taught two terms, and was followed by Jesse Smith, Craig- 
head, and Hannibal. 

"As early as the fall of 1835 ^ ™^^ ^7 ^^^ name of Timblin made 
application for the school in Punxsutawney. He was examined by the 
Board of Directors, and was the first master under the new school system. 
The members of the Board were C. C. Gaskill, James Winslow, and 
James Torrence. Mr. Gaskill attended to the examination of the mas- 
ters. It was held in an old log house in which Mr. Torrence lived. The 
house known as the old farm-house of Dr. Jenks was the first house built 
ii; Punxsutawney. The master was examined in reading, writing, and 
arithmetic. The 'United States Speller,' the 'English Reader,' and 
the ' Western Calculator' were the text-books used in the school. At 
that time Young township included Bell, McCalmont, Gaskill, Hender- 
son, and parts of Winslow and Oliver. 

" There was a great deal of hostility to the school system at first in 
Punxsutawney. Four schools were organized, under the common school 
system, in the fall of 1835 in Pine Creek township, — one near where 
Nathaniel Butler lives, another near the Bowers school, then called the 
Frederick school, another near Richardsville, and the other in the school- 
house near the Beechwoods graveyard. The directors were John Latti- 
mer, William Cooper, and Andrew Barnett. A school-master of the time 
says that David Butler, John Lattimer, and Andrew Barnett examined the 
masters at Andrew Barnett's house. Mr. Thomas Kirkman taught first 
under the school system at the Butler school-house. Mrs. Mary McKnight 
taught the summer term in this house in 1840. Mr. Kirkman taught 
thirty days for a month, receiving fourteen dollars a month and boarding 
himself. They used the ' English Reader' and the ' United States Spell- 
ing-Book.' The schools began some time in November, and continued 
three months. Thomas Reynolds taught the Waite school in Beech- 
woods first under the school system. He received twelve dollars a 
month and ' boarded round' with the scholars. They had a ten-plate 
stove in the school-house, and their fuel consisted entirely of chestnut 
and hemlock bark, which the large pupils helped the master to pull from 
dead trees in the vicinity. There were about twenty-eight pupils attend- 
ing the school, with an average daily attendance of eighteen. Judge 
Andrew Barnett, John Lattimer, and William Cooper were the principal 
citizens who took part in having the schools started. John Wilson was 

216 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

probably the first master at Richardsville. They had about fifteen 
pupils there." 

PAUL DARLING, A PIONEER SCHOOL-MASTER. 

Dr. George Darling located in Brookville in 1834 and was the father 
of Paul. When still young, about thirteen years old, Paul was obliged 



1 

1 
i 

i 
i 

i 






'M 


T^m 


^HH^^^^ 




M^^^^^^^^ 


' 


1 ^ 







Paul Darling. 

to help himself. In the year 1836 Paul taught a school in Pine Creek 
township. His certificate read as follows : 

" We, the undersigned School Directors of Pine Creek township, do 
hereby certify that we have examined Paul Darling, and have found him 
15 217 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

qualified to teach Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic and the principal 

rules of Grammar and Geography. 

(Signed) "James Moore, 

Archd. McMurray, 

John Long, 

Geo. S. Matthews." 

From a long and intimate acquaintance with Paul Darling, I can 
truthfully say that he was a type of the truest men of his time ; he was 
modest, yet determined, honest in deeds as well as in words, indus- 
trious and intelligent, frugal and liberal, kind-hearted, friendly and 
charitable, social and poetic, yet prudent and just. As a financier he 
was eminently successful, as his large estate of over five hundred thousand 
dollars fully attested. 

"In 1836 a school-house was built above Mr. Prescott's, at Prescott- 
ville, called the Fuller school-house. Mr. Thomas Reynolds taught the 
first school in it. During the summer of the same year a contract for 
building a hewed log school-house near Mr. Dickey's, in Henderson 
township, was given to Mr. Caufman, and a school was commenced the 
following winter, under a Mr. Heisy as master. From the best informa- 
tion to be had, a school appears to have been organized in the Bowers 
settlement some time before that. About 1836 a school was organized 
under the school system in Perry township, and taught in one of the old 
log dwelling-houses in the vicinity of Perrysville. No one remembers 
who the master was. 

" In the winter of 1835 ^^ ^^37 ^ school was kept in an old house 
near Frederick Stears', by a Mr. Travis. That was the first school in 
that locality under the school system. A Mrs. Travis taught a summer 
school in the same place. It was then in Perry, but was included in 
Porter township when it was organized. About the year 1839 a frame 
school-house was built just above Perrysville. T. S. Smith, Sr., furnished 
the nails and spikes, and some other citizens furnished other material 
and built the house. The same year a hewed log school-house was built 
near George Blose, Sr. 's. Wm. Postlethwait, George Blose, Sr., Youngs, 
and some others were prominent in having the school organized. 

"The first common school was commenced in what is now Eldred 
township in the beginning of the winter of 1S37. The house was built 
the same fall, near where the Hall school-house now stands. It was a 
hewed log house, and was built by the citizens. John Lucas taught the 
first school in it. There were about forty scholars. About 1837 or 1S38 
a round log school-house, called the Milliron school, was built a short 
distance northwest of where Ringgold now is. Samuel Hice was the first 
master there. He received not more than ten dollars a month. They 
used ' Cobb's Spellers' as text-books. Henry Freas, John Hice, Ben- 

218 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

jamin Campbell, and others were the principal citizens in having the 
school organized. A school-house was built in Rose township, near 
Mr. Spyker's, in 1S36. They previously rented a house on what is 
now the Pleasantville road, near John J- Miller's. The first school in 
Union township under the school system was taught by Jesse or Theoph- 
ilus Smith, about 1838, in a log school-house, with a wooden chimney 
along one end. The house was about two miles from Corsica, near 
Dallas Monks'. The pupils studied their lessons out loud. The teacher 
was paid sixteen or eighteen dollars a month, and boarded himself. 
Some of the citizens who took part in starting the school were John 
Fitzsimmons, the Barrs, Hindmans, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Monks. 
John Kahle taught the first school in Kahletown, Eldred township, about 
1837 or 1S38, in one end of his father's house. That was the first school 
in that part of the county. Clover township was organized into a sepa- 
rate school district in 1842. The first board of directors was organized 
May 24, 1842. Rev. C. Fogle was President, John Shields, Secretary, 
and D. Carrier, Treasurer. The wages of male teachers were from eigh- 
teen to twenty-five dollars a month, and of female teachers from twelve 
to fifteen dollars a month, and board themselves and make their own 
fires." — Blose. 

PIONEER SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 

Pioneer school inspectors appointed by the court December 8, 1834, 
under the act of 1834 : 

Rose township — Dr. George Darling, Rev. John Shoap. 
Young township — Charles C. Gaskill, Charles R. Barclay. 
Perry township — David Lewis, Parlen White. 
Pine Creek township — Andrew Barnett, John Lattimer. 
Ridgeway township — Lyman Wilmarth, Reuben A. Aylesworth. 
Barnett township — Cyrus Blood, William x\rmstrong. 

EXTRACT FROM COMMON SCHOOL LAW OF 1834. 

" Section 3. It shall be the duty of the said school directors, within 
ten days after the period of their election, annually to meet in their re- 
spective school districts, when such board shall choose, out of their own 
body, a president and secretary, and a delegate to join the delegate 
meeting provided for in the following section ; they shall appoint a 
treasurer for the district where no township or borough treasurer shall be 
otherwise appointed ; and it shall be the duty of each board, on the day 
of their first assembling as aforesaid, to divide themselves into three 
classes, the first of which shall serve until the next election, the second 
until the second election, and the third until the third election follow- 
ing, so that one-third of each board may be chosen annually ; and if any 
vacancy shall occur, by death or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the 

219 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

body in which such vacancy may occur to fill the same until the next 
election. 

"Section 4. On the first Tuesday of November, in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, and the first Monday in May in 
each year thereafter, there shall be held, at the county court-house in 
each division, a joint meeting of the county commissioners and one dele- 
gate from each board of school directors within said county or school 
division, in which it shall be decided whether or not a tax for the expen- 
diture of each district be levied ; and if a tax be authorized by a major- 
ity of the joint meeting, it shall be apportioned among the several dis- 
tricts as county levies are now by law apportioned. Each delegate to 
the joint meeting shall be entitled to receive one dollar per day for each 
day's attendance spent by him in travelling to and from and attending 
said meeting, to be paid out of the county treasury." 

PIONEER SCHOOL CONVENTION UNDER THE COMMON SCHOOL 

LAW OF 1834. 

From The Jeffersoniaii, Brookville, Pennsylvania, Thursday, Novem- 
ber 6, 1834: 

"The delegates appointed by the several boards of school directors 
in the respective districts of Jefferson County, together with the commis- 
sioners of said county, met agreeably to law at the court-house, in the 
borough of Brookville, on Tuesday, the 4th of November, inst. (being 
the first Tuesday of the month). The following delegates were in 
attendance : 

" County Commissioners — Levi G. Clover, James Corbett. 

*' Rose — Robert Andrews. 

^' Barnett — Cyrus Blood. 

" Pine Creek — Andrew Barnett. 

''Young — John Hoover. 

"Perry — John Philliber. 

" Ridgeway — James L. Gillis. 

" The above delegates met the 4th of November and adjourned until 
the 5th in consequence of the absence of some delegates. 

"They met the 5th of November in pursuance to previous adjourn- 
ment, and proceeded to business. 

" On motion, the convention was organized by calling Robert 
Andrews to the chair and appointing John Beck secretary. 

"On motion of Mr. Andrew Barnett, and seconded, it was unani- 
mously resolved that an appropriation for common schools be made. 

" ^Resolved, That a tax be levied and raised of double the amount of 
the appropriation made by the Commonwealth for common schools. ' 

"The following shows the proportionable share due each township 
out of the money appropriated by the Commonwealth, — viz. : Barnett 

220 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

township, $6.13; Ridgeway township, $7.06 ; Perry township, $21.86; 
Pine Creek township, $13.20 ; Rose township, $37.60 ; Young township, 
$19.20; total, $105.05. 

" The tax to be raised off the people, for the pupose of carrying into 
effect the ' free school' system, is estimated at double the amount appro- 
priated by the Commonwealth. 

" ' Section 17. The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be super- 
intendent of all the public schools established by virtue of this act.' " 

COMMON SCHOOL NOTICE. 

"For the purpose of settling controversies, of collecting and impart- 
ing information connected with the Common School System, so as to 
produce harmony and vigor in every department of its operations, the 
Superintendent will be at the county towns mentioned in the following 
lists on the days therein designated at 10 o'clock a.m. 

" Directors, Teachers, and all others who may have business to trans- 
act with the Superintendent, under the 4th paragraph of loth section of 
the school law, will meet him at their proper county towns on the days 
respectively named. As the chain of appointments now made will not 
admit of more than one day's delay at each place, early and punctual 
attendance is earnestly requested. 

Town. County. Date. 

■l^ ;i< ^ i^ i'fi ^ >ic ;■< >!< 

Brookville. Jefferson. Saturday, Sept. 2. 

^ ^ .^ ^i^ ^ ^i^ ^ji jjc j|c 

" Thos. H. Burrowes, 
' ' Superintendent Common Schools. 
"Secretary's Office, Harrisburg, July 18, 1837." 

"Section 19. Seventy-five thousand dollars are hereby appropriated 
out of the school fund for the year one thousand eight hundred and 
thirty-five, which amount shall be annually thereafter appropriated and 
paid as hereinafter directed until the year when the school fund shall 
yield an interest of one hundred thousand dollars annually, when that 
sum shall be distributed in each year amongst the school divisions created 
by the adoption of this act in manner following : The superintendent of 
common schools shall give notice in at least one public newspaper in 
every division in this Commonwealth for the space of three weeks of the 
sum to which such division may be entitled, having reference in such 
distribution to the number of taxable inhabitants in said division, and 
these funds shall again be distributed to the different districts according 
to the provisions of this act, and as soon as practicable thereafter the 
said superintendent shall cause the distributive share of each school 
division entitled thereto to be paid to the county treasurer, which share 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

shairbe appointed amongst the respective districts of the several divisions 
according to the said principle of distribution prescribed for the superin- 
tendent ; and the same rule shall be observed in the distribution of the 
proceeds of the tax imposed upon the county for the same purpose by the 
delegate meeting hereinbefore provided for." 

The law of 1831 of Senator Audenreid is the foundation-stone, and 
that of 1834 and the act of 1837 completed our common school system, 
erroneously called " the free school system." 

I cannot do better than to reproduce here a little speech of mine in 
response to the toast " Our Free Schools" : 

" The free school is our nation's hope. It is education that forms the 
common mind, and the continuance of our free institutions requires an 
educated common mind. To thoroughly educate the common people our 
schools should be free and equal. No special privileges or conditions 
should be permitted in them, either for the rich or the poor. We pride 
ourselves on our common schools, and well we may ; but the schools are 
not equal, and only partially free. Before they can become either we 
must emancipate them from favoritism and unequal burdens. The con- 
ditions are unequal because the rich can buy all needful books to make 
the schools thorough and efficient for them, but the widow, the day 
laborer, and the mechanic cannot. True, we have free houses, free 
desks, free fuel, free black-boards, free maps, and free teachers, every- 
thing free except the most important, the one thing needful, — books. 
It is our duty, then, to perfect the school system by furnishing free 
books, free paper, free pens, free ink, free slates, free pencils, and free 
sponges. For it must be plain to all that with this heavy burden yet re- 
maining on the shoulders of poor parents and pupils the word free schools 
is a misnomer and a mockery. Give us, then, by legislation equal privi- 
leges in the schools, and free text-books for all. 

" Hasten the day, just Heaven, 

Accomplish Thy design, 
And let the blessings of the school Thou hast given us 

On all men and women shine, 
Until free schools be everywhere and equally enjoyed, 
And human power be for human good employed." 

For much of the local information in this chapter, and which I quote, 
I am indebted to the writings of Professor G. Anient Blose. 

PIONEER LICENSES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY FROM 1812 TO 1830.* 
Name. Place. Date. 

Joseph Barnett Bald Eagle road December 16, 1812. 

John Matson Bellefonte road Issued. 

Joseph Barnett Residence March 6, 1819. 

* Copied from the records of Indiana County by J. N. Banks, Esq. 

222 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



Name. Place. 

Joseph Barnett Residence 

Henry Feye Sandy Lick settlement 

Joseph Barnett Residence on State Road . . . 

Isaac Packer Where Northern pike crosses 

Sandy Lick Creek 

Joseph Barnett Continued 

Joseph Barnett " 

Elijah Heath Punxsutawney 

Elizabeth Winslow .... " 

Joseph Long " 

William Vasbinder .... Rose township 

Joseph Potter On Turnpike road 

John W. McAnulty .... Bellefonte road 

Joseph Barnett 

Elijah Heath Punxsutawney 

Alexander Powers .... Pine Creek township 

Isaac Packer " " " 

John Barnett House formerly owned by Jo- 
seph Barnett 

Joseph Barnett Port Barnett 

Andrew Vasbinder .... Pine Creek township 

Joseph Barnett Port Barnett 

Isaac Packer At his residence 

Elijah Heath Punxsutawney 

Alexander Powers .... Pine Creek township 



Date. 
September 27, 1820. 
December 15, 1812. 
December 12, 1814. 

December 12, 1823. 
December 24, 1821. 
March 23, 1S23. 
December 25, 1822. 
March 24, 1829. 

March 23, 1829. 

March 25, 1825. 
Dated Sept. 27, 1824. 
March 22, 1824. 
December 26, 1824. 
March 30, 1824. 

Granted. 

September 22, 1822. 
June 25, 1827. 
March 27, 1827. 

Marked granted. 
June 27, 1827. 



PIONEER CONSTABLES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY FROM 1811 TO 1830. 



Name. Place. 

Freedom Styles Pine Creek 

Freedom Styles 

Joseph Barnett 

Freedom Styles 

Elijah Graham 

Elijah Graham 

Freedom Styles 

David Hamilton Perry . . 

Jesse Armstrong " . . 

Jacob Mason Pine Creek 

Jacob Hoover Perry . . 

John Dixon Pine Creek , 

Moses Knapp " 

James Wachob Perry . . 

David McDonald 

Silas Sally Pine Creek 

Elijah Heath Perry . . 

James Diven Pine Creek 

Isaac McHenry Perry . . 

Stephen Reed Pine Creek 

Thomas Robison " 

Charles R. Barclay Peny . . 

223 



Date of Election. 
March 15, 1811. 
March 20, 1812. 
March 18, 1814. 
March 17, 1815. 
March 15, 1816. 
March 15, 1817. 
March 20, 1818. 

March 19, 1819. 

March 17, 1820. 
March 18, 1820. 
March 16, 1821. 

March 15, 1822. 

March 14, 1823. 

March 19, 1824. 

March 1 8, 1825. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Name. Place. Date of Election. 

Thomas Robison Pine Creek March 17, 1S26. 

Thomas McKee Periy " " 

James Park Pine Creek March 16, 1S27. 

Joseph Lowry Young " " 

Nehemiah Bryant Ridgeway " " 

William McAndrish Perry " " 

James Wachob " March 20, 1S29. 

Peter Ostrander Pine Creek " " 

William Love Rose " " 

Clark Eggleston Ridgeway " " 

William Bowers Young March 19, 1S30. 

William Smith Perry " " 

James McCollough Pine Creek " " 

James M. Brockway Ridgeway . " " 

Herbert Smith Rose " " 

William Bowers Young " " 

EARLY CONSTABLES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY FROM 1831 TO 1843. 

Date of 



Name. Place. 



Election. 



John George Rose 1831. 

Stephen Tibbets Ridgeway " 

John B. Williams Young " 

Joseph Cochran Perry " 



, 1 ^ ( Rose. 1 le vote. Adam George -» 

Adam George I *" I 

T u r- \ acted as constable, no doubt V iS: 

John George j ' 1 

I by appointment of court. J 

T ,,T , , f Perry. Tie vote. James W^a- 

James Wachob I ■' -" . 

,, , p , i chob evidently appointed by 

"^ the court. 

John George Pine Creek " 

Henry Walburn Ridgeway " 

Wiliam Clark Rose 1833. 

John Dixon, Sr Pine Creek " 

Caleb Dill Ridgeway " 

John Maize Barnett " 

John Drum Young " 

William M. Cochran Perry " 

John Smith Rose 1S34. 

George Newcomb Perry " 

William Clawson Young " 

Jacob Dobbins Ridgeway " 

Edwin Forsythe Barnett " 

James K. Hoffman Pine Creek " 

John Christy Rose i^SS- 

Joseph Sharp Brookville " 

George Newcomb Perry " 

Nathan Phipps Barnett " 

Thomas W. Barber Ridgeway " 

John Wilson Pine Creek " 

William Clawson Young " 

224 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Date of 
Name. Place. Election. 

Miram Gibbs Snyder 1835. 

Joseph Sharp Brookville 1836. 

Joseph Chitister Rose " 

Joseph Cochran Young " 

Andrew Alcorn Perry " 

Thomas W. Barber Ridgeway " 

Miram Gibbs Snyder " 

John ^Vilson Pine Creek " 

Elijah M. Graham Eldred " 

James Aharrah Barnett " 

John McLaughlin Brookville 1837. 

William Kelso Rose " 

Henry Smith Young " 

Henry Philliber Periy " 

John McGhee Washington " 

Edward Adams Pine Creek " 

Elijah M. Graham Eldred " 

Henry Shaffer Snyder " 

George Dickinson Ridgeway " 

James Aharrah Barnett " 

John McLaughlin Brookville 1838. 

William Kelso Rose " 

William Robinson Young " 

James R. Postlethwait Perry " 

John McGhee Washington " 

Henry Shaff"er Snyder . . . . • " 

Thomas Dixon Pine Creek " 

T. B. Maize Barnett " 

Cyrus Blood Jenks . " 

John Gallagher Brookville 1 839. 

Samuel Newcomb Rose " 

David Barnett Young " 

Robert E. Kennedy Perry " 

Robert Mcintosh Washington ......... " 

George S. Matthews Pine Creek " 

Galbraith Wilson Snyder " 

Christ. McNeil Eldred " 

Matthew L. Ross Ridgeway " 

James Aharrah Barnett " 

George R. James Rose 1S40. 

William Long Young " 

Andrew Gibson Perry " 

John Hice Porter " 

George Matthews Pine Creek " 

David Riggs Washington " 

Christ. McNeil Eldred " 

Peter Rickard, Jr Snyder " 

Robert Huling Barnett " 

David Thayer Ridgeway " 

John Dougherty Brookville " 

225 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Date of 

Name. Place. -c-i^^,: 

tlection. 

George R.James Rose 1841. 

James St. Clair Young • " 

Michael Palmer Perry " 

John Hice Porter " 

Michael Elliott Washington " 

Nicholas McQuiston Pine Creek " 

James Wilkins Snyder " 

Joseph Winslow Gaskill " 

Charles Gillis Ridgeway " 

James Steele Eldred " 

James Aharrah ... Barnett " 

William Rodgers Brookville " 

William McGarey Rose 1842. 

David L. Moore Clover " 

Absalom De Haven Young " 

Michael Palmer Perry " 

James Dickey Paradise " 

John McAninch Porter " 

Michael Elliott Washington " 

Peter Rickard Snyder " 

Nicholas McQuiston Pine Creek " 

David Thayer Ridgeway " 

John D. Kahle Eldred " 

Robert Wallace Barnett " 

Oran Bennett Jenks " 

John Brownlee Brookville " 

Isaac Hughes Rose 1843. 

William E. Gillespie Young , . " 

Nicholas McQuiston Pine Creek " 

De Witt C. White Snyder " 

David C. Riggs Warsaw " 

John McAninch Porter " 

Samuel Kyle Washington " 

Charles Jacox Clover " 

David Thayer Ridgeway " 

John Reynolds Barnett " 

Job M. Carley Eldred " 

John Coffman Gaskill " 

James H. Ames Jenks " 

M. Palmer ■. Perry " 

William Rodgers Brookville " 

"PIONEER CENSUS OF LYCOMING AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. 

Total. Negro Slaves. 
" Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in 1800 . . . 



•Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, in 1810 
" " " in 1820 

'< " " in 1830 

«' « " in 1840 

226 



5414 


39 


^Vhites. 


Colored. 


161 


I 


561 


10 


2003 


21 


7196 


57 



Slaves. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"Taxable list of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, from 1807 up to 
and including 1842 : 1807,23; 1814,35; 1821,161; 1828,356; 1835, 
904; 1842, 1788. 

" Receipts and expenditures of Jefferson County from January 2, 18 16, 
to January i, 1817, both days inclusive: 

"John Taylor, Esq., Treasurer. 

"Dr. 
"To cash of Joseph Barnett, Collector of Pine Creek township for 1S13, 

in full $17-43^ 

Received on unseated lands 2475.61^ 

" land sold 101.92 

$259^-97 

List of outstanding debts due from the collectors for 1815 ^7-7o^ 

On unseated lands before 1816, for which the lands have been sold to the 

Commissioners 2140.27 

County tax, 1816 790.92 

;?2938.S9;^ 
"Cr. 

" By cash paid on sundry road orders ^1626.76 

" " on election orders 34-00 

" " on wolf orders ^57-37}4 

" " to road viewers 18.00 

" " on contingent expenses 102.00 

Paid to Indiana County the proportionate part of the general expenses . 298.56 

Treasurer's fees of sixty-five tracts of land sold to Commissioners . . . 182.92 

Treasurer's fees on $1933.13^2 at 2 per cent 38.66 

Balance in treasury 136.69^ 

$2594.97 

" Garwin Sutton, 
Thomas Sharp, 
Thomas Laughlin, 

* ' Com77iissioners. 
" Attest : 

"Daniel Stanard, 

" Clerk:' 
— Indiana American, February 10, 181 7. 

INCIDENTS. 

On October 23, 1819, was the "dark day." Between nine and ten 
o'clock in the morning the darkness was so great that the pioneer had to 
light his old lamp or blaze his pitch-pine knot. 

In January, 1828, there was a great flood in Jefferson County, and 
also a great one on February 10, 1832. 

1816, or the year without a summer. Frost occurred in every month 
in 1 81 6. Ice formed half an inch thick in May. Snow fell to the 

227 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

depth of three inches in June. Ice was formed to the thickness of a 
common window-glass on the 5 th day of July. Indian corn was so 
frozen that the greater part was cut in August and dried for fodder, and 
the pioneers supplied from the corn of 181 5 for the seeding of the spring 
of 1817. 

In 1809, Fulton patented the steamboat. 

The pioneer steam-vessels that made regular trips across the Atlantic 
Ocean were the " Sirius" and " Great Western" in the year 1830. 
The pioneer use of gas for practical illumination was in 1802. 
The pioneer mill to make finished cloth from raw cotton was erected 
in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 181 3. 

In I So 7 wooden clocks were made by machinery. 
The anthracite coal business was established about 1820. 
In 1836 matches were patented. 

" The first practical friction matches were made in 1S27 by an Eng- 
lish apothecary named Walker, who coated splints of card-board with 
sulphur and tipped them with a mixture of sulphate of antimony, chlo- 
rate of potash, and gum. A box of eighty-four matches sold for one 
cent, a piece of glass-paper being furnished with it for obtaining ignition. 
In 1830 a London man named Jones devised a species of match which 
was a little roll of paper soaked in chlorate of potash and sugar, with a 
thin glass globule filled with sulphuric acid attached to one end. The 
globule being broken, the acid acted upon the potash and sugar, pro- 
ducing fire. Phosphorus matches were first introduced on a commercial 
scale in 1833, and after that improvements were rapid. 

"The modern lucifer match combines in one instrument arrange- 
ments for creating a spark, catching it on tinder, and starting a blaze, — 
steps requiring separate operations in primitive contrivances. It was in 
1836 that the first United States patent for friction matches was issued. 
Splints for them were made by sawing or splitting blocks of wood into 
slivers slightly attached at the base. These were known as ' slab' or 
* block' matches, and they are in use in parts of this country to-day. 

The pioneer strike in America was that of the journeymen boot- 
makers of Philadelphia in 1796. The men struck, or "turned out," as 
they phrased it, for an increase of wages. After two weeks' suspension 
of trade their demands were granted, and this success gained them 
greater strength and popularity, so that when they " turned out in 1798, 
and again in 1799, for further increases, they were still successful and 
escaped indictment. 

Vulcanized rubber was patented in 183S. 
In 1840, Daguerre first made his pictures. 
The express business was started about 1840. 
The pioneer telegram was sent in 1845. 

The pioneer steamer to cross the Atlantic was built in New York in 

22S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1818 by Francis Picket. The vessel was called the "Savannah." In 
the trip she carried seventy-five tons of coal and twenty-five cords of 
Avood. She left Savannah, Georgia, in May, 18 19, and arrived at Liver- 
pool in June, 1S19. She used steam eighteen of the twenty-six days. 

James Piles was the pioneer blacksmith, in 180S, in Jefferson County. 
Joseph ISIcCullough was the second blacksmith, in 1819. Before " stocks" 
were invented oxen had to be thrown and tied and the shoes nailed on 
while down. McCullough did this. 

In iSii a furious tornado swept across this county. 

In 182S, March 9, an earthquake shock was felt in Jefferson County. 

The earliest recorded tornado in the United States was in 1794. It 
passed north of Brookville, in what is now Heath and other townships, 
and extended to Northford, Connecticut. 

PIONEER THANKSGIVING DAYS. 

The first recorded Thanksgiving was the Hebrew feast of the Taber- 
nacles. 

The New England Thanksgiving dates from 1633, when the Massa- 
chusetts Bay colony set apart a day for thanksgiving. 

The first national Thanksgiving proclamations were by Congress 
during the Revolutionary War. 

The first great American Thanksgiving day was in 17S4, for the 
declaration of peace. There was one more national Thanksgiving in 
1789, and no other till 1862, when President Lincoln issued a national 
proclamation for a day of thanksgiving. 

The pioneer Thanksgiving day in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, 
was on the last Thursday of November, 181 9, by proclamation of 
Governor Findlay. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PIONEER MISSIONARY WORK THE FIRST WHITE MAN TO TRAVEL THE SOIL 

OF JEFFERSON COUNTY REVS. POST, HECKEWELDER, AND OTHERS. 

The pioneer minister to travel through what is now Jefferson County 
was a Moravian missionary or a preacher of the United Brethren Church, 
the Rev. Christian Frederic Post. He travelled from Philadelphia to the 
Ohio (Allegheny) River in 1758 on a mission from the government of 
Pennsylvania to the Delaware, Shawanese, and Mingo Indians. These 
Indians were then in alliance with the French, and Rev. Post's mission 
was to prevail on them to withdraw from that alliance. Post passed 
through what is now Jefferson County, from Clearfield, over Boone's 
Mountain, crossed Little Tobec (Little Toby), and then over Big Tobec 
(Big Toby) Creek. 

229 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

From Post's journal I quote the following extract : 

'^August 2 lid — We came across several places where two poles, painted 
red, were stuck in the ground by the Indians, to which they tye the pris- 
oners, when they stop at night, in their return from their incursions. We 
arrived this night at Shinglimuce, where was another of the same posts. 
It is a disagreeable and melancholy sight, to see the means they make 
use of, according to their savage way, to distress others. 

'^ j)'d — We came to a part of a river called Tobeco, over the moun- 
tains, a very bad road. 

" 4tli — We lost one of our horses, and with much difficulty found him, 
but were detained a whole day on that account [at what is now Brock- 
way ville]. I had much conversation with Pisquetumen [an Indian chief 
that travelled with him] ; of which I think to inform myself further when 
I get to my journey's end. 

" jth — We set out early this day, and made a good long stretch, 
crossing the big river Tobeco, and lodged between two mountains. I 
had the misfortune to lose my pocket book with three pounds five shil- 
lings, and sundry other things. What writings it contained were illegi- 
ble to any body but myself. 

'^6ili — We passed all the mountains, and the big river, Weshawaucks, 
and crossed a fine meadow two miles in length, where we slept that night, 
having nothing to eat. 

"///? — We came in sight of fort Venango, belonging to the French, 
situate between two mountains, in a fork of the Ohio [Allegheny] river. 
I prayed the Lord to blind them, as he did the enemies of Lot and Elisha, 
that I might pass unknown. When we arrived, the fort being on the 
other side of the river, we hallooed, and desired them to fetch us over : 
which they were afraid to do ; but showed us a place where we might 
ford. We slept that night within half gun shot of the fort." 

^i; ;!; * ;|; ;1; ;}; A^ -f. ;i; 

" Christian Frederic Post accompanied by several friendly Indians, 
set out from Bethlehem on the 19th of July, for Fort Augusta (Sunbury). 
There he took the path along the right bank of the West Branch, leading 
over the Chillisquaque, over Muncy, Loyalsock, and Pine Creeks, crossed 
the Susquehanna at the Great Island, and then struck one of the main 
Indian thoroughfares to the West. On the 3rd of July he forded Beech 
Creek, on whose left bank he came to the forks of the road. One branch 
led southwest along the Bald Eagle, past the Nest to Frankstown, and 
thence to the Ohio country ; the other due west to Chinklacamoose. Post 
took the latter. It led over the Moshannon, which he crossed on the ist 
of August. Next day he arrived at the village of Chinklacamoose in the 
'Clear Fields.' Hence the travellers struck a trail to the northwest, 
crossed Toby's Creek (Clarion River), and on the 7th of August reached 
Fort Venango, built by the French in 1753, in the forks of the Alle- 

230 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

gheny. 'I prayed the Lord,' writes Post, 'to blind the French, as he 
did the enemies of Lot and Elisha, that I might pass unknown.' 

" Leaving Venango, Post and his companions turned their horses' heads 
to the southwest, struck the Conequenessing on the 12th of August, 
crossed the Big Beaver, and next day arrived at Kaskadkie, the terminus 
of their journey and the head-quarters of 'the Beavers' and 'Shingas,' 
war-chiefs of the western Delawares." Post was, therefore, the first Mora- 
vian west of the Alleghenies. He closes his interesting journal with these 
words : 

" Thirty- two days that I lay in the woods, the heavens were my cov- 
ering, and the dew fell so hard sometimes that it pricked close to the skin. 
During this time nothing lay so heavily on my heart as the man who went 
along with me [Shamokin Daniel], for he thwarted me in everything I 
said or did ; not that he did it against me, but against the country on 
whose business I was sent. When he was with the French he would speak 
against the English, and when he was with the English he would speak 
against the French. The Indians observed that he was unreliable, 
and desired me not to bring him any more to transact business between 
them and the prisoners. But praise and glory be to the lamb that was 
slain, who brought me through a country of dreadful jealousy and mis- 
trust, where the Prince of this world holds rule and government over the 
children of disobedience. It was my Lord who preserved me amid all 
difficulties and dangers, and his Holy Spirit directed me. I had no one 
to commune with, but Him ; and it was he who brought me from under 
a thick, heavy and dark cloud into the open air, for which I adore, and 
praise and worship him. I know and confess that He, the Lord my God, 
the same who forgave my sins and washed my heart in his most precious 
blood, grasped me in his almighty hand and held me safe, — and hence I 
live no longer for myself, but for Him, whose holy will to do is my 
chiefest pleasure." 

" Christian Frederic Post, the most adventurous of Moravian mis- 
sionaries employed among the North American Indians, was born at 
Conitz, Polish Prussia, in 1710. He immigrated to this country in June, 
1742. Between 1743 and 1749 he was a missionary to the Moravian In- 
dians in New York and Connecticut. He first married Rachel, a Wam- 
panoag, and after her death, Agnes, a Delaware. Having become a 
widower a second time, he, in 1751, returned to Europe : hence he sailed 
for Labrador in 1752, engaging in an unsuccessful attempt to bring the 
gospel to the Esquimaux. Having returned to Bethlehem in 1754, he 
was sent to ^^'yoming, where he preached to the Indians until in Novem- 
ber of 1755. I^ the summer of 1758, Post undertook an embassy in be- 
half of government to the Delawares and Shawanese of the Ohio country, 
which resulted in the evacuation of Fort Duquesne by the French and 
the restoration of peace. In September of 1761 he engaged in an inde- 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

pendent mission to the Indians of that distant region, and built him a hut 
on the Tuscarawas, near Bolivar, in Stark County, Ohio. John Hecke- 
welder joined him in the spring of 1762. But the Pontiac war drove the 
missionaries back to the settlements, and the project was abandoned. Im- 
pelled by his ruling passion, Post now sought a new field of activity in the 
southern part of the continent, and in January of 1 764 sailed from Charles- 
ton, via Jamaica, for the Mosquito coast. Here he preached to the natives 
for upward of two years. Revisited Bethlehem in July of 1767, returned 
to Mosquito, and was in Bethlehem, for the last time, in 1784. At this 
date he was residing with his third wife, who was an Episcopalian, in 
Germantown. Here he deceased April 29, 17S5. On the 5th of May 
his remains were interred in the Lower Graveyard of that place. Rev. 
William White, of Christ Church, conducting the funeral service. A 
marble slab, bearing an appropriate obituary record, was placed, some 
thirty years ago, upon the veteran missionary's grave." — Transactions of 
the Moravian His tori ca/ Society, vol. i. 

The second minister to cry aloud in this wilderness was the Rev. John 
Heckewelder in 1762. He came from Bethlehem over the Chinklacamoose 
trail to Punxsutawney. He was a Moravian missionary, and travelled 
some thirty thousand miles in Indian missionary work between the years 
1762 and 1814. 

The third preacher to penetrate this wilderness was a Moravian min- 
ister, the Rev. David Zeisberger, and he passed through or near Brock- 
wayville over the northwest trail to what was then the Ohio, now the 
Allegheny (in what is now Forest County) River. 

I quote as follows from " Day's Collections" : 

"In the year 1767 an unarmed man of short stature, remarkably plain 
in his dress, and humble and peaceable in his demeanor, emerged from 
the thick forest upon the Allegheny River, in the neighborhood of the 
Seneca towns. This was the Moravian missionary, Rev. David Zeis- 
berger, who, led by Anthony and John Papanhunk, Indian guides and 
assistants in his pious labors, had penetrated the dense wilderness of 
Northern Pennsylvania, from Wyalusing, on the Susquehanna, to preach 
the gospel to the Indians in this region. His intended station was at 
Goshgoshunk, which appears to have been on the left bank of the Alle- 
gheny, not far from the mouth of Tionesta. Possibly Goshgoshunk was 
the same as the Indian name Cush-cush. 

" The Seneca chief, believing Brother Zeisberger to be a spy, received 
him roughly at first ; but, softened by his mild demeanor, or perhaps by 
the holy truths which he declared to the chief, he at length bade him 
welcome, and permitted him to go to Goshgoshunk. He warned him, 
however, not to trust the people there, for they had not their ecjuals in 
wickedness and thirst for blood. This was but another incentive to him 
who came to preach ' not to the righteous, but to sinners.' However, on 

232 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

his arrival he Avas well received, and shared the hospitality of a relative 
of one of his guides. ' Goshgoshunk, a town of the Delawares, consisted 
of three villages on the banks of the Ohio [Allegheny]. The whole town 
seemed to rejoice at the novelty of this visit. The missionary found, 
however, that the Seneca chief had told him truly. He was shocked at 
their heathenish and diabolical rites, and especially by their abuse of the 
holy name of God. An Indian preacher, called Wangomen, strenuously 
resisted the new doctrines of the missionaries, especially that of the in- 
carnation of the Deity, and instigated the jealousy of his people ; but the 
truth, preached in its simplicity and power, by the missionaries, over- 
came him, and he yielded his opposition so far as to join the other In- 
dians in an invitation to the missionaries to settle among them. The old 
blind chief, Allemewi, was awakened, and afterwards baptized, with the 
Christian name of Solomon. The missionary went home to report his 
progress to his friends in Bethlehem. The following year Zeisberger re- 
turned, accompanied by Brother Gottlob Senseman and several Moravian 
Indian families from the Susquehanna, to establish a regular mission at 
Goshgoshunk. They built a block-house, planted corn, and, gathering 
round their block-house several huts of believing Indians, they formed a 
small hamlet, a little separated from the other towns. ' To this a great 
number resorted, and there the brethren ceased not, by day and night, to 
teach and preach Jesus, and Crod in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
himself. ' These meetings were fully attended, ' and it was curious to see 
so many of the audience with their faces painted black and vermilion and 
heads decorated with clusters of feathers and fox-tails.' A violent oppo- 
sition, however, succeeded, occasioned by the malicious lies of the ma- 
gicians and old women, — ' the corn was blasted, the deer and game began 
to retire from the woods, no chestnuts nor bilberries would grow any 
more, merely because the missonaries preached a strange doctrine, and 
the Indians were changing their way of life. ' Added to this, the grand 
council at Onondaga and Zeneschio (Ischua) looked with extreme jealousy 
upon this new encroachment of white men upon their territories and dis- 
countenanced the establishment. In consequence of these things the mis- 
sionaries left Goshgoshunk, and retired fifteen miles farther up the river, 
to a place called Lawanakanuck, on the opposite bank, probably near 
Hickorytown. Here they again started a new settlement, built at first a 
hunting- den, and afterwards a chapel and a dwelling-house, ' and a bell, 
which they received from Bethlehem, was hung in a convenient place.' 

** About the year 1765 the ^Moravian missionary David Zeisberger 
established the mission of Friedenschnetten, near the present town of 
Wyalusing, in Bradford County. This town, the name of which signifies 
'tents of peace,' contained 'thirteen Indian huts, and upward of forty 
frame houses, shingled, and provided with chimneys and windows.' 
There was another mission about thirty miles above Friedenschnetten, — 
16 233 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

' Tschechsehequanink,' or, as it was translated, ' where a great awakening 
had taken place.' This latter mission was under the charge of Brother 
Roth. 

"These missions prospered greatly, and much good was done among 
the Indians, until 176S, when the Six Nations, by the treaty made that 
year, 'sold the land from under their feet,' and the missionaries en- 
countered so much trouble from both the Indians and whites, that in 
1772 the brethren decided to abandon these missions and remove to the 
new field which had been planted by the indefatigable Zeisberger on the 
banks of the Ohio. They therefore started from Wyalusing on the 12th 
day of June, 1772, in number two hundred and forty-one souls, mostly 
Indians, of all ages, with their cattle and horses. Their destination was 
Friedenstadt,'-!^ near the present site of Beaver, Pennsylvania. They were 
under the guidance of Pirothers Roth and Ettewein, and their course was 
from the North Branch across the Allegheny Mountains, by way of Bald 
Eagle, to the Ohio River. Brother Roth conducted those who went by 
water and Brother Ettewein those who travelled by land. In 1886 the 
Moravian, published at Bethlehem, gave the journal of Rev. John Ette- 
wein, and we give the extracts from it of the progress of the party through 
the territory now comprised by southern Jefferson County, with the 
explanatory foot-notes in the Moravian, translated by INIr. Jordan : 

" '1772. 

" ' Tuesday, July 14. — Reached Clearfield Creek, where the buffalos 
formerly cleared large tracts of undergrowth, so as to give the appearance 
of cleared fields. Hence, the Indians called the creek 'Clearfield.' 
Here at night and next morning, to the great joy of the hungry, nine 
deer were shot. Whoever shoots a deer has for his private portion, the 
skin and inside ; the meat he must bring into camp and deliver to the 
distributors. John and Cornelius acted in this capacity in our division. 
It proved advantageous for us not to keep so closely together, as we had 
at first designed ; for if the number of families in a camp be large, one 
or two deer, when cut up, afford but a scanty meal to each individual. 
So it happened that scarce a day passed without there being a distribu- 
tion of venison in the advance, the centre and the rear camp. (On the 
route there were one hundred and fifty deer and but three bears shot.) 
In this way our Heavenly Father provided for us ; and I often prayed for 
our hunters, and returned thanks for their success. 

" ' 71iursday,July 16. — ... I journeyed on, with a {t\\ of the brethren, 
two miles in a falling rain, to the site of Chinklacamoose, where we found 



* " The .\nnals of Fiiedensclinetteii, on the .Susquehanna, with Jolin Eitewein's 
Journal of ihe Removal of the Mission to Friedcnsladt, 1765 anil 1772, l)y John W. 
Jordan." 

234 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

but three huts, and a few patches of Indian corn. The name signifies 
'No one tarries here willingly.' It may, perhaps, be traced to the cir- 
cumstance that some thirty years ago an Indian resided here as a hermit, 
upon a rock, who was wont to appear to the Indian hunters, in frightful 
shapes. Some of these, too, he killed, others he robbed of their skins ; 
and this he did for many years. We moved on four miles, and were 
obliged to wade the West Branch three times, which is here like the 
Lehigh at Bethlehem, between the island and the mountain, rapid and 
full of ripples. 

" ' Friday, July ly. — Advanced only four miles to a creek that comes 
down from the northwest.* Had a narrow and stony spot for our camp. 

'^ ^ Saturday, July i8. — Moved on without awaiting Roth and his 
division, who on account of the rain had remained in camp. To-day 
Shebosch lost a colt from the bite of a rattlesnake. Here we left the 
West Branch three miles to the Northwest, up the creek, crossing it five 
times. Here, too, the path went precipitately up the mountain, and four 
or five miles up and up to the summit — to a spring the head-waters of the 
Ohio.f Here I lifted up my heart in prayer as I looked westward, that 
the Son of Grace might rise over the heathen nations that dwell beyond 
the distant horizon. 

" 'Sunday, July ip.—As yesterday, but two families kept with me, be- 
cause of the rain, we had a quiet Sunday, but enough to do drying our 
effects. In the evening all joined me, but we could hold no service as 
the Ponkis were so excessively annoying that the cattle pressed towards 
and into our camp, to escape their persecutors in the smoke of the fires. 
This vermin is a plague to man and beast, both by day and night. But 
in the swamp through which we are now passing, their name is legion. 
Hence the Indians call it the Ponksutenink, i.e., the town of the Ponkis.^ 
The word is equivalent to living dust and ashes, the vermin being so 
small as not to be seen, and their bite being hot as sparks of fire, or hot 
ashes. The brethren here related an Indian myth, to wit : That the afore- 
cited Indian hermit and sorcerer, after having been for so many years a 
terror to all Indians, had been killed by one who had burned his bones, 
but the ashes he blew into the swamp, and they became living things, and 
hence the Ponkis. 

" ' Monday, July 20. — After discoursing on the daily word — ' The Lord 

* "Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County, which they struck at a point near the 
present Curwensville. " 

I " Probably the source of the North Branch of the Mahoning, which rises in 
Brady township, Clearfield County, and empties into the Allegheny, in Armstrong 
County, ten miles above Kittanning." 

j " Kept down the valley of the Mahoning, into Jefferson County. Punxsutawney 
is a village in Young township, Jefferson County. The swamp lies in Gaskill and 
Young townships." 

235 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

our God be with us, may he not forsake us' — we traveled on through the 
swamp, and after five miles crossed the path that leads from Frankstown^ 
to Goshgoshunk, and two miles from that point encamped at a run. At 
5 P.M., came Brethren Peter, Boa/, and Michael, with fourteen unbap- 
tized Indians, from Lagundontenink, to meet us with four horses, and 
five bushels of Indian corn, also Nathaniel's wife from Sheningaf with a 
letter from Brother Jungman. I thought had I but milk or meat, I would 
add rice, and prepare a supper for the new-comers. But two of them 
went to hunt, and in half an hour Michael brought in a deer to my fire. 
My eyes moistened with tears. Sister Esther hunted up the large camp 
kettle, and all had their fill of rice and venison, and were much pleased. 
That night and the following morning there were four deer shot by the 
company. 

" ' Tucsihiy, July 21. — The rear division came up, and the destitute, 
viz., such as had lived solely upon meat and milk, were supplied each 
with one pint of Indian corn. We proceeded six miles to the first creek. 
In the evening a number of the brethren came to my fire, and we sat to- 
gether right cheerful until midnight. Once when asleep I was awakened 
by the singing of the brethren who had gathered around the fire of the 
friends from Lagundontenink. It refreshed my inmost soul. 

'* ' Wednesday, July 22. — We journeyed on four miles, to the first fork ;j; 
where a small creek comes down from the mouth. 

" ' Thursday, July 2j. — Also four miles to the second fork, to the creek, 
coming in from the south-east.^ As a number of us met here in good 
time we had a meeting. Corneliu's brother-in-law stated that he was 
desirous of being the Lord's ; therefore he had left his friends so as to 
live with the brethren, and to hear of the Saviour. 

" ^ Friday, July 24. — The path soon left the creek, over valleys and 
heights to a spring. Now we were out of the swamp, and free from the 
plague of the Ponkis. Also found huckleberries, which were very grate- 
ful. Our to-day's station was five miles, and about so far we advanced on. 

" ' Saturday, July 25. — On which day we encamped at a Salt Lick, and 
kept Sunday some three miles from the large creek, which has so many 
curves, like a horseshoe, so that if one goes per canoe, when the water is 
high, four days are consumed in reaching the Ohio, whereas, by land, 
the point can be reached in one day.|| Our youngsters went to the creek 

* " Near Hollidaysburg. See Scull's map of 1759 for this path." 
f " Sheninga is a township in Lawrence County, just above Friedenstadt." 
J " A branch of the Mahoning." 

\ " Query. — The creek that comes in and up below Punxsutawney." 

II " The Mahoning, formed by the junction of the East and South Branch, which 

meets at Nicholsburg, in Indiana County. This route to the Allegheny was the same 

path taken by Post in 1758, when returning from his second visit to the Ohio Indians 

in that year, and between Chinklacamoose and the Allegheny, over the same j)ath 

236 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to fish, and others to hunt ; and at sunset they came in with two deer, 
and four strings of fish.' " 

" John Roth was born in Brandenburg, February 3, 1726, of CathoHc 
parents, and was brought up a locksmith. In 174S he united with the 
Moravians and emigrated to America, arriving at Bethlehem in June of 
1756. He deceased at York, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1791. 

"John Ettewein was born 29th of June, 1721, in Freudenstadt, Wiir- 
temberg. He united with the Moravians in 1740, and came to Bethle- 
hem in April of 1754. Here he was set apart for service in the schools 
of his adopted church, when, in 1758, a new field of labor was assigned 
him at the Brethren's settlements in Western North Carolina (Forsyth and 
adjacent counties). During his residence in Wachovia he itinerated 
among the spiritually destitute Germans of South Carolina (1762), and 
visited the Salzburgers and Swiss of Ebenezer (in Georgia) in 1765. 
The following year he was recalled to Bethlehem. This place was the 
scene of his greatest activity, as here, under God, he led the Moravian 
Church in safety through the stormy times of the Revolution. He was 
ordained a bishop in 1784. In 1789 he sailed for Europe, and attended 
a general synod convened at Herrnhut. John Ettewein was one of the 
remarkable men of the Brethren's Church in North America. He deceased 
at Bethlehem, 2d of January, 1802." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PIONEER AND EARLY CHURCHES PRESBYTERIAN THE PIONEER CHURCH IN 

THE COUNTY THE PIONEER PREACHER AND CHURCH. 

The pioneer Presbyterian preaching in Pennsylvania was in Philadel- 
phia in 1698. In 1704 they erected a frame church on Market Street 
and called it " Buttonwood." 

I quote from Rev. Fields, as to the organization of the pioneer Pres- 
byterian Church of Jefferson County : 

"Its first name was Bethel, and continued to be for many years. 
The records of the church are not to be found farther back than Septem- 
ber 20, 185 1. Records were in existence as far back as 1832, but where 
they are or who has them cannot now be ascertained. The church had 
its beginning in Port Barnett. Preaching seems to have been in the set- 
tlement in June, 1S09. At that time a communion service was held in 
the house of Peter Jones, near where John IMcCullough now lives. Robert 

travelled by Barbara Leininger in 1755, when Chinklacamoose and Punxsutawney were 

villages." 

237 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

McGarraugh administered the supper. He was then pastor of Licking 
and New Rehoboth, now in Clarion County. He had come to the 
Clarion region as a licentiate of the Presbytery of Redstone in the fall of 
1803. Whether he visited Port Barnett settlement at that time cannot 
now be ascertained. At all events, when he returned from Fayette 
County with his family, June, 1804, and was ordained pastor of Licking 
and New Rehoboth churches, November 12, 1807, he seems to have 
taken the Port Barnett settlement under his care. When he ' held the 
communion,' June, 1809, certain persons were received into the church 
in such a way that he baptized their children. This much is plain from 
the memory and Bible record of Mrs. Sarah Graham, daughter of Joseph 
Barnett." 

A word here with regard to that good and God-fearing man. He was 
highly educated and able in prayer, yet, like Moses, slow of speech, often 
taking two and three hours to deliver a sermon. He preached without 
notes, and with great earnestness pleaded with his hearers to forsake 
their sins and the errors of their ways and turn to the Lord. So earnest 
would he become at times that the great tears would roll from his eyes to 
the floor. It was often said that he preached more eloquently by his tears 
than by the power of his voice. He lived poor and died poor, and 
preached in the clothes in which he worked. 

" How long Robert McCrarraugh continued to preach in the house of 
Peter Jones remains uncertain. After some years religious services were 
held in the house of Samuel Jones, five miles west of Brookville. The 
church was fully organized in a school-house, near the present site of the 
Ignited Presbyterian Jefferson Churcli on the Andrews farm. That seems 
to have been in 1824. The Allegheny Presbytery reported to the Synod 
of Pittsburg twenty-three churches in 1823. In 1824 the Presbytery 
reported twenty-five churches, and among them Bethel and Zelienople, 
so that the record of the Synod establishes conclusively the fact that in 
that year (1824) Bethel for the first time was recognized as a separate 
congregation. The next record is in the minutes of the Allegheny Pres- 
bytery, April, 1825. It there appears as vacant, and, shortly afterwards, 
as connected with Red Bank, both having sixty-eight members. 

"Bethel Church, as organized in the Jefferson school-house, was re- 
moved, in the fall of 1824, to a farm on the road from Brookville to 
Clarion. The farm was owned by Joseph Hughes (the father of Isaac 
D. Hughes, of Brookville), and was distant from Brookville three miles. 
There they built a church, and dedicated it Tlic Bethel of Jefferson 
County. The church was built of logs, small and closely notched to- 
gether. It stood to the right of the road as one goes towards Clarion, 
near the pike, and on a line between it and the ' Old Graveyard.' The 
latter is still in existence, but all traces of the old meeting-house are gone. 
The floor was genuine mother-earth, and the seats slabs or boards on 

23« 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

logs. A board on two posts constituted the 'pulpit-stand,' and a seat 
was made out of a slab or a block of wood. The first stated preacher in 
that log church was Rev. William Kennedy. His name appears as a 
stated supply October 13, 1S25 ; also April, 1827. Bethel was then con- 
nected with Red Bank. He ceased to be a member of the Allegheny 
Presbytery after April, 1827. He was dismissed to Salem Presbytery, 
Indiana Synod. He became a member of Clarion Presbytery January 
17, 1S43, and died November 2, 1846, aged sixty-seven years and four 
months. The last years of his life were devoted to the congregations of 
Mount Tabor and Mill Creek. 

"The next record concerning Bethel is that the Rev. Cyrus Riggs 
was appointed to supply at Bethel on the second Sabbath of July, 1827. 
Bethel and Red Bank were marked vacant April, 1828. Mr. Riggs was 
appointed April, 1829, to supply one Sabbath at discretion. Rev. John 
Core and Rev. John Munson were selected to ' administer the Lord's 
Supper at Bethel on the fifth Sabbath of August, 1829.' Bethel and Red 
Bank were still vacant April, 1831. 'Rev. Cyrus Riggs and Rev. John 
Core were appointed to administer the Lord's Supper on the third Sab- 
bath of August, I S3 1.' Mr. Core afterwards preached that same year at 
discretion. 

"The first jail building in Brookville was of stone, two stories in 
height. It was built before the first court-house, and for that reason be- 
came the first place of preaching, in the second story. Bethel Church 
seems to have renewed its youth in the summer of 1831. No further 
trace of preaching in ' the old log church' is found after that date. In 
the summer of 1S32 the first court-house was erected, and religious ser- 
vices were then held in it. Bethel does not appear in the minutes of 
April, 1832. In 1833, Mr. Riggs was appointed to supply Bethel on the 
fifth Sabbath of June, and ^lessrs. McGarraugh and Riggs to administer 
the Lord's Supper the fourth Sabbath of August. On the ist of July, 
1S33, the following persons were dismissed to form the organization of 
Pisgah, — viz. : Samuel Davidson and wife, Samuel Lucas and wife, Philip 
Corbett and wife, John Wilson and wife, William Corbett and wife, John 
Hindman and wife, John M. Flemming and wife, David Lamb and wife, 
Christwell Whitehill and wife, and William Douglass. They were organ- 
ized the next day by Mr. Riggs, in the house of Philip Corbett, a short 
distance west of Corsica, where his son, Robert Corbett, now resides. 

" The next record of Presbytery is August 24, 1834 : ' The congrega- 
tions of Bethel, Pisgah, and Beechwoods requested by their commissioners 
that Mr. John Shoap, a licentiate of Allegheny Presbytery, be appointed 
to preach steadily in those congregations until the spring meeting of 
Presbytery.' The request was granted, and Mr. Shoap accepted the call, 
October 8, 1834, from the churches of Bethel and Pisgah. The conditions 
of the call were, ' Flach half-time and two hundred dollars by each.' ' To 

^39 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be paid,' as one lady remarked, ' in pork and maple-sugar.' Mr. Shoap 
was never ordained, never installed. He died March 13, 1835, of con- 




The Presbyterian Church of Brookville. Erected in 18^9. 

sumption. His body was interred in the ' Old Graveyard' in Brookville, 
and perhaps but one person can identify his grave. Rev. Gara Bishop, 
M.D., came to Brookville June 23, 1835. He supplied in that year 

240 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Beechwoods more frequently than either Bethel or Pisgah. April 3, 
"1838, Bethel requested the one half of the labors of the Rev. Gara 
Bishop as a stated supply. One- fourth of his labors were given to Beech- 
woods. He remained until the spring of 1840. Rev. David Polk, a 
cousin of President James IC. Polk, was then invited to give one-half of 
his labors to Bethel. On the 2 2d of October Clarion Presbytery was 
formed from Allegheny, and Bethel's history henceforward was a part of 
the records of Clarion. Rev. Bishop died in Brookville, October 17, 
1852, and was buried in the 'Old Graveyard.' In 1841 a small frame 
church (contract price being eleven hundred dollars) was erected on the 
site of the present edifice, and was dedicated in August, 1842. Rev. 
Polk remained until December 24, 1845." — Fields. 

Bethel Church was changed to "The Bethel Congregation of the 
Brookville Presbyterian Church" by articles and charter of incorporation 
May 13, 1842. The trustees named in the articles were James Corbett, 
Samuel Craig, and Andrew Barnett. On May 13, 1842, the court de- 
cided that the persons associated in the articles should "become a cor- 
poration and a body politic," and that the charter be entered in the office 
for recording deeds in the said county of Jefferson. In accordance with 
this decree the articles were recorded in Deed Book No. 3, pages 521, 522. 

On August 18, 1843, ^t a meeting held for that purpose, Jameson 
Hendricks, W. A. Sloan, and Thomas M. Barr were duly elected elders. 

The pioneer regular preacher for Bethel was the Rev. William Ken- 
nedy, — viz., from October, 1825, to April, 1827, one-half of his time. 
The membership then was sixty- eight. When Bethel removed to Brook- 
ville in 1830, all west of the old log church moved west, thus forming 
two churches out of one. On July 2, 1833, the members of the western 
division were organized into Pisgah Church (the third organization ) by 
a committee from the Allegheny Presbytery, Rev. Cyrus Riggs, chair- 
man, and on that date the organization was completed in Philip Corbett's 
barn, one mile west of where Corsica now stands. In this society there 
were twenty- five members, — twelve men and their wives and one widower. 
The elders elected at that time were William Corbett, William Douglass, 
Samuel Lucas, Samuel Davison, James Hindman, and John M. Flem- 
tning. Two meetings preliminary to the organization were held at the 
house of Robert Barr, Sr., one mile east of where Corsica now stands, — 
viz., February 22, 1833, and April 13, 1833. On February 22 it was re- 
solved that the congregational name be Pisgah, and that the edifice for 
worship be erected on the hill south of McAnulty's, close to the Olean 
road. A committee was appointed to purchase the land, and a commit- 
tee was appointed to present the petition of the church people to Presby- 
tery for an organization. At the April meeting the committee reported 
the purchase of ten acres of ground on the west side of the Olean road 
for the sum of fifteen dollars and a deed of trust received. It was also 

241 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

resolved that Philip Corbett's barn, in Clarion County, be the place for 
worship that summer. The pioneer house of worship was built on that 
hill in 1 841, at a cost of one thousand dollars. 

Pisgah was first regularly supplied by Rev. John Shoap in connection 
with Bethel (Brookville) in 1834 and 1835. Rev. Shoap was a married 
man, and lived in Brookville, where Judge John Mills now resides. 
Rev. Gara Bishop was put in for one-third time, from May, 1835, to 
May, 1836. During the next four years only supplies. The first installed 
minister was Rev. David Polk, one- half time, from 1840 to 1845. 

THE BEECHWOODS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Rev. W. H. Filson, in his history of this church, says, "The Presby- 
terian Church of Beechwoods was organized December 2, 1S32, and is, 
therefore, nine years 30unger than the settlement. In 1826, Rev. Cyrus 
Riggs visited the settlement, and the same year a Sunday-school was 
started, and at its close a sermon was read. Andrew Smith was the first 
reader. Rev. Riggs frequently visited these people between 1826 and 
I S3 2. The following is a copy of the minutes as found on the sessional 
records : 

" ' On the first day of December, 1S32, the Rev. Cyrus Riggs, accom- 
panied by three elders of Bethel (Brookville) Church, arrived in Beech- 
woods, and having preached on Sabbath, the second, after sermon gave 
public notice that they would proceed at the house of Matthew Keys, on 
IMonday, the third of December, to organize a church, and hold an elec- 
tion for elders in this congregation. At the time appointed the following 
persons, having presented certificates or given other satisfaction of their 
standing and right to membership in the church, did publicly agree and 
covenant to and with each other that they would walk together as a 
church of Christ, according to the order and discipline of the Presby- 
terian Church in the United States of America ; and, further, that they 
would love, watch over each other, and not suffer sin on any brother, but 
would faithfully, and in the spirit of the gospel only, exhort and admonish 
one another, wherever they saw or knew of any one overtaken, or in dan- 
ger of being overtaken, with evil, and that they would endeavor to pro- 
voke each other to love and good works. An election was then held for 
ruling elders, and Robert Mcintosh, William McConnell, and Robert 
Morrison were duly elected.' Then following is a list of members : Wil- 
liam McConnell, Robert Mcintosh, William Cooper, Martha Cooper, 
David Dennison, Martha Dennison, Susan Keys. The first communion 
was held in the hewed log house of William Cooper, and was conducted 
by Rev. Robert McGarraugh, of Clarion County. The only person re- 
ceived into membershij) at that time was James Smith, the father of 
Elder William Smith. 

"Rev. Riggs was born in Morris County, New Jersey, October 15, 

242 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1774. While yet a boy his father emigrated to Washington County, 
Pennsylvania. Rev. Riggs studied theology under Dr. McMillen. He 
graduated from Jefferson College in 1S03, and was licensed to preach 
October 7, 1S05. He was married to Miss Mary Ross, of New Jersey, 
July 25, 1797. He died in Illinois in 1849. 

"In 1S35, Rev. Gara Bishop, M.D., pastor at Brookville, began to 
preach for them, and continued to do so for eleven years. During his 
ministry Joseph McCurdy, John Hunter, and John Millen were elected 
elders and thirty-three members added to the church. During all this 
time the congregation had worshipped in the log school-house on the 
farm of James Wait." 

THE PERRY CHURCH IN PERRY TO\YNSHIP. 

"The Presbyterian Church of Perry stands tenth in order of age in 
Clarion Presbytery. The older churches were organized as follows : 
New Rehoboth and Licking, 1802; Concord, 1807; Rockland, 1822; 
Richland, 1823; Brookville, 1824; Beechwoods, 1832; Pisgah, at Cor- 
sica, 1833; Bethesda, at Rimersburg, 1836. 

" This church of Perry, so called from the name of the township, was 
organized September 4, 1S36, by Revs. John Reed and E. D. Barret, a 
committee appointed by the Presbytery of Blairsville. It Avas composed 
of the following twenty-four members : William Stunkard, Stephen I^ewis, 
and Samuel Kelly, elders, and their wives, Ruth Stunkard, Ann Lewis, 
and Elizabeth Kelly, James and Sarah Chambers, John and Mary Framp- 
ton, Thomas and Eleanor Gourley, Elizabeth and Margaret Kelly, David 
and Elizabeth Lewis, William and Rebecca Marshall, Joseph and Jane 
Manners, Margaret McKinstry, and Elizabeth McKee. All of these 
were received by letter, and Robert Gaston and Sarah Wachob on exami- 
nation. 

" The original members brought their letters from churches in In- 
diana and Armstrong Counties. The Gourley family came from Sinking 
A'alley, though John Gourley, a brother of Thomas, was elected an elder 
in this church in 1841 while residing at Covode, and George Gourley 
(the first) came here from Smicksburg. 

"John Perry was precentor. Isaac Lewis, and after him David 
Harl, lined out the hymns. The precentor and outliner stood in an ele- 
vated box, and the pulpit was high over the heads of the people, as is 
still the case in some instances in modern times. 

" PASTORS. 

" This church has had six pastors. For four years after its organiza- 
tion its pulpit was filled by supplies, during which time thirty-two mem- 
bers were received by letter and nineteen on examination, or fifty-one 
in all. 

243 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The first pastor was Rev. John Carothers, who was ordained and 
installed June 4, 1840, by the Presbytery of pjlairsville as pastor of the 
churches of Gilgal and Perry. 

" During this pastorate additions to the eldership were received at 
three different times. May S, 1841, Joseph Manners and John Gourley 
were ordained and installed, and James Chambers installed. May 13, 
1842, John Sprankle ; May 6, 1S48, Wni. M.Johnston, ^Vm. Newcomb, 
and Isaac McHenry." 

THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This denomination has five congregations within the limits of Jeffer- 
son County. The first society was organized in a log school-house, in 
the borough of Punxsutawney, February i, 1836, and is called the Jeffer- 
son Congregation. At the time of the organization there were seventeen 
communicants and two elders, — Alex. Jordan and Dr. John W. Jenks. 
Their first pastor was Rev. Charles R. Barclay. 

Writing under date of March 5, 1895, J. B. Morris, Sr., of Punxsu- 
tawney, Pennsylvania, says, — 

"This organization continued to worship in the same house until 
about the year 1834. In the fall of 1833 they began the erection of a 
brick church on what is now known as the Public Square. 

" History tells us that the first organization of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church was in the old log school-house above men- 
tioned. This is an error in history, for reasons which can be ex- 
plained. The first organization of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
was formed in the home of Dr. John W. Jenks, now the City Hotel, 
in the room now used as a dining-hall, during the afternoon of Feb- 
ruary I, 1836, with the following-named members, as recorded in the 
minutes of the meeting taken from the session-book : John Hutchinson, 
Isabella Hutchinson, Obed Morris, Mary Morris, Alexander Jordan, 
Flora Jordan, John White, Kesiah White, Richard Kendall, William 
Shields, Eleanor Shields, John "W. Jenks, Mary D. Jenks, Elizabeth Bar- 
clay, Mary Barclay, Rev. David Barclay, and Rachel Williams. At the 
meeting above mentioned Obed Morris was called to ])reside, with Charles 
R. Barclay as clerk. Resolutions were adopted as follows: 'Dissolving 
our connection with the Presbytery of Blairsville, we seek to unite our- 
selves with the Pennsylvania Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church ; also that Charles R. Barclay is hereby appointed commissioner 
of this congregation to meet the Pennsylvania Presbytery of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church at its next meeting,' vrhich convened at Car- 
michael's, Greene County, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1836. The moderator 
and clerk were to sign the resolutions, attested by the two elders, John 
W. Jenks and Alexander Jordan. Upon presentation of the resolutions 
to the Pennsylvania Presbytery by the commissioner, the request of the 

244 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

congregation was granted, and so recorded in the minutes of the Presby- 
tery. At this meeting of Presbytery, Charles R. Barclay was examined 
as a candidate for the ministry, was ordained, and on his return preached 
his first sermon in April, 1S36, in the old brick church, and was pastor 
of the congregation until the fall of 1841. During about six months of 
this pastorate, while the pastor was absent, his son-in-law, Samuel McCol- 
lum, occupied the pulpit. The pastor was also frequently assisted by such 
men as John ]\Iorgan, Milton Bird, and A. M. Bryan, from all of whom 
the writer remembers hearing noble gospel sermons. 

" A regular Presbyterian Church had been formed in Punxsutawney 
in 1826, and in about 1833 they built a brick church in the Public Square, 
but the feeble organization was not permanent. 

" A brief sketch of the old brick church erected on the Public Square 
might not be out of place. The bricks were prepared and delivered on 
the ground by John Hunt, familiarly known as ' Old Pappy' Hunt, in 
the summer of 1833, at two dollars and fifty cents per thousand, and late 
in the fall of the same year, perhaps October or November, they were 
laid. The carpenter-work was managed by John Drum, father of Mrs. 
Evans and Mrs. Winslow, and perhaps there are now none living who 
worked on the building, except Mr. Ephraim Bair and Mr. Daniel 
Rishel. The house was not finished for years afterwards, although used 
for religious and school purposes. 

" Early ruling elders of the Punxsutawney congregation in the order 
of their ordination : John W. Jenks, Alexander Jordan, James E. Cooper, 
Thomas McKee, Edward Means, John McHenry, Sr., John Couch, Charles 
R. White, C. R. B. Morris, John Hutchinson." 



UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This church is one of the youngest of the Presbyterian bodies in 
America, but the history of its antecedents extends back more than a 
century. Its original antecedents were the Associate and Reformed 
Presbyterian bodies. The former body was composed of Presbyterians 
who seceded from the General Assembly of Scotland in 1733 and formed 
themselves into what was known as the "Associate Presbytery," or, as 
the masses knew them, " the Seceders." The first minister of that de- 
nomination to arrive in America was Rev. Alexander Gellatly, who set- 
tled at Octoraro, Pennsylvania, in 1753, where he labored for eight 
years. Many members of the body had preceded him to this country, 
settling along the seaboard, and some of them going as far south as the 
Carolinas. The church was largely increased by immigration from year 
to year, and the Presbytery of Pennsylvania was organized in 1758. 

The first minister of the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter Church 
to arrive in America was Rev. John Cuthbertson, who came in 1752. 

245 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Soon after he was joined by two other ministers from the Reformed 
Presbyterian Church of Ireland. 

A Presbytery was formed in 1774, and the church, as a body, obtained 
a foothold in the New World. The subject of union between these bodies 
was agitated before either was many years old, the leading ministers be- 
lieving that such an alliance would add to the efficiency of both. During 
the Revolutionary War several meetings of ministers of the two denomi- 
nations were held, at which the matter was thoroughly discussed. In 
17S2 three Presbyteries met in Philadelphia, and a union was consum- 
mated. The new organization took the name of the "Associate Re- 
formed Synod of North America." A few of the ministers of both bodies 
refused to enter into the alliance, and the original bodies maintained a 
separate existence. 

The Associate Reformed Church flourished. It spread rapidly to the 
westward, and was largely and steadily increased by immigration. In 
1793 it had a firm hold on the territory now known as Western Pennsyl- 
vania. In that year the original Presbytery of Pennsylvania was divided 
into two, — the First and Second Associate Reformed Presbyteries of 
Pennsylvania. The Second, by order of the Synod, took the name of the 
Monongahela. It was composed of four ministers,- — Revs. John Jamison, 
Henderson, Warwick, and Rankin, with their elders. This was the first 
Presbytery organized in connection with any of the Reformed Churches 
west of the Allegheny Mountains. Its boundary lines were the Allegheny 
Mountains on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. 

The prosperity of the new body in Western Pennsylvania was remark- 
able. Soon it became necessary to form new Presbyteries in the territory 
originally covered by the Presbytery of the Monongahela, and the church 
commanded the attention of the entire country. 

A union of the Associate with the Associate Reformed Churches of 
North America had been for a long time considered desirable by the lead- 
ing ministers of both denominations, and it was accomplished in 1858. 
The consummation took place in Old City Hall, Pittsburg, and was the 
occasion of general rejoicing among the ministers and members of both 
bodies. It was in this city of ecclesiastical reunions that the United 
Presbyterian Church as a distinct Presbyterian body was born. 

The Rev. John Jamison mentioned as one of the original four in the 
Second or Monongahela Presbytery was my maternal great-grandfather.* 
He was born at Ellerslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland. His mother was a 
Wallace, of Sir William's clan. He read theology with John Brown, 
of Haddington. He migrated to America, landing in Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, in November, 1782. He came from the Associated Purgher 
Synod of Scotland. He moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to 



Dr. McKnight. 
246 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a grist-mill and 
six hundred acres of land, including what is known as Big Springs. He 
was for some years pastor of a Shippensburg church. Mentally, he 
was able and educated ; physically, he was six feet two inches high, 
possessing wonderful energy and powerful endurance. In the year 1790 
he crossed the mountains with his wife and three children, locating 
near Blairsville, Pennsylvania, being the first minister to locate in In- 
diana County, Pennsylvania. In 1791 he was installed pastor of Brush 
Creek, Hannahstown, and Conemaugh Churches. In 1793 ^'s time was 
given to New Alexandria and Conemaugh. Rev. Jamison travelled as a 
supply for his church from New York to Georgia, organizing churches. 
In ]May, 1795, ^^ ^^'^^ charged with misconstruing the action of Synod in 
reference to the use of Watts's hymns, days of fasting, the use of tokens, 
etc., in connection with the Lord's Supper, being opposed to innova- 
tions. He was hyper-Calvinistic in his views. These charges were sus- 
tained in Philadelphia at the trial, and he was suspended. Nothing 
daunted, he wrote a book, defending his views and the old-time customs of 
his church. Also he continued to preach as an Independent till the day 
of his death. The country being new, he preached from settlement to set- 
tlement, in the cabins, barns, and in tents in the woods. For roads he had 
forest-paths, bridges there were none, and, in devotion to duty, he braved 
alike the beasts of the forests, the summer's heat, and the winter's cold. 

Rev. John Jamison married Nancy Gibb in Scotland. He died in 
1 82 1, aged seventy-six years. He is buried in the United Presbyterian 
Church graveyard at Crete, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Nancy, his 
wife, died in 1841, aged ninety-one years. 

"The pioneer church organized in Jefferson County was the Jeffer- 
son, now United Presbyterian, Congregation. 

"About the year 1820 a number of families of like faith settled in 
Jefferson County. These had most of them been settled in Huntingdon 
County, in this State, for a few years (some more, some less), but were 
originally from the same neighborhood in the north of Ireland. Drawn 
together by a common faith, as they had all been educated in the seces- 
sion church, and stimulated by the laudable enterprise of securing homes 
for themselves and for their families, they struck for this country, then an 
almost unbroken wilderness, covered mostly with pine forests. 

" The place selected for their settlement is north of the Red Bank and 
southwest of what is now Brookville, the county seat. At that time jus- 
tice for them was administered in Indiana, some forty-five miles south. 
This arrangement for the administration of justice continued for some 
ten years after their location here. 

"From the circumstance adverted to, — of these people being emi- 
grants from Ireland, — the neighborhood was long known as the Irish 
Settlement. 

247 



• PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 

" The names of the founders were John Kelso and Isabella, his wife ; 
John Kennedy and Ann, his wife ; James Shields and Elizabeth, his 
wife ; William Morrison and Nancy, his wife ; Samuel McGill and Mar- 
garet, his wife ; James McGifiin and Sarah, his wife ; Matthew Dickey 
and Elizabeth, his wife ; James Ferguson and Margaret Bratton, his 
wife ; Robert Andrews and Jane Lucas, his wife ; Alexander Smith and 
Annie Knapp, his wife ; Christopher Barr and Sarah Lucas, his wife ; 
also, by subsequent marriage, Elizabeth McGiffin, widow of Joseph 
Thompson ; Clement McGarey and Mary, his wife ; Hugh Millen and 
Esther, his wife; Joseph Millen and Polly Brown, his wife. These last 
three settled south of Red Bank, and constituted the nucleus of what 
became Beaver Run Congregation. 

"Then there were Moses Knapp and Susanna, his wife; none of that 
name are now members of the L^nited Presbyterian Church here. 

"There were also a William Ferguson and family south of Red Bank ; 
none of that family are now in the county or members of this church. 

" ORGANIZATION. 

"As nearly as I can ascertain, the first dispensation of the Lord's 
Supper in this congregation was in the autumn of 1S2S. The ministers 
officiating were Revs. Joseph Scroggs and Thomas Ferrier. James Fulton, 
an elder from Piney Congregation, which seems to have been organized 
some time previous, was present at this communion. He and James 
McGiffin were the officiating elders on that occasion. About that time 
John Kelso was elected and ordained to the eldership. These two, 
Kelso and McCiififin, were the only elders, as would appear, until after 
their first pastoral settlement. 

"Matthew Dickey and his family moved into these bounds in 1832, 
and the first recorded minutes of Jefferson Session which has come into 
my hands is dated August 31, 1833, ^^""^ ^^ ^^'"^ ^o ^^^ ^^'^ ^^^^ handwriting 
of Mr. Dickey. The Session as then constituted consisted of Rev. James 
McCarrell, moderator ; James McGiffin, John Kelso, Matthew Dickey, and 
John Shields. 

"The next minute of Session is dated July 14, 1838. At this meet- 
ing the name of Solomon Chambers appears as a member of the court. 
It is probable he was elected at the same time with the others mentioned 
in the pastorate of Brother McCarrell. 

" The next recorded minute is dated July 3, 1842, and is in a different 
handwriting, without any name subscribed. Changes had taken place, 
which are not noticed in these records. Rev. McCarrell had left (when 
or for what cause does not appear), and Rev. John McAuley appears, who 
at that time examined three applicants for admission, — viz., John Thomp- 
son, Joseph Millen, and John Millen. These three men are elders in the 
church, — one in Brookville, the others in Beaver Run. At the same time 

248 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

eight children were baptized, — William T. Love, Mary A. Ferguson, Eliza- 
beth Campbell, Martha Chambers, Margaret Lucas, Chambers Millen, 
Joseph K. Gibson, and Hugh McGill. 

"The next date in the minute-book, May i6, 1843, states that Rev. 
John Hindman, upon the occasion of the moderation of a call, moderated 
the Session, and baptized two children, — John Kelso Moore and Rebecca 
McGififin. Rev. John McAuley disappears as unceremoniously as did his 
predecessor, and we are left to infer that the call moderated at this time 
by Brother Hindman was for Mr. John Tod, as the next minute, dated 
October 15, 1843, represents the same Rev. Tod administering an admo- 
nition as the organ of a constituted court. 

"pastors and pastoral changes. 

" No one with whom I have conversed in this vicinity is able to in- 
form me who first ministered in preaching the gospel to these people of 
Jefferson. When last I met our aged father. Rev. David Blair, in 1S72, 
he informed me that he, first of all his ministerial brethren, visited and 
preached to this people. Then, as a result, he supplied them to some 
extent, as he and they were long in the same Presbytery, and, in the ab- 
sence of evidence to the contrary, I am disposed to admit his claim. One 
circumstance, however, renders it doubtful. When the first of these 
people came here. Rev. John Dickey was ministering as the settled pas- 
tor of Piney, Cherry Run, and Rich Hill; this last is where he spent 
most of his ministerial service and ended his life. But Piney is so near, 
and the relations were so intimate, it seems improbable that they should 
enjoy a regular dispensation of gospel ordinances and Jefferson not even 
have any supply. 

" The names of Thomas McClintock, Daniel McLean, Joseph Scroggs, 
David Blair, Thomas Ferrier, and some others have been mentioned to 
me as having preached here at an early day, some before the congregation 
organized and some afterwards. 

"The first communion was held in 1S28, as has been before men- 
tioned, and it would seem that measures were taken soon afterwards to 
call a pastor. It is not possible from any data within my reach to deter- 
mine the date of the settlement of the first pastor. There is no doubt 
but that the man was Rev. James McCarrell and that his settlement was 
about 1S30. 

" In the minute-book of this Session there are only two recorded 
minutes under his pastorate, — the first, August 31, 1833, ^^''d the second. 
May 24, 1834. 

" I remember having seen Mr. McCarrell once when a probationer, 
about the year 1829. This was shortly before his settlement here. 

" Of Mr. McCarrell's capabilities as a minister of the Word, or of his 
success as a pastor, I can form no judgment. His place of residence was 
17 249 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Strattanville, so far out of the hounds of Jefferson Congregation that few 
of these people had opportunity of becoming acquainted with him. He 
was a man of blameless life, exemplary in his deportment, and attentive, 
as much as his domestic cares would permit, to all pastoral duties. 

" The next date in the minute-book of Session reveals the presence of 
Rev. John Hindman and John McAuley. It seems to be the occasion of 
Mr. McAuley's first communion here after his settlement. Mrs. INIcAuley, 
whose maiden name was Reed, and raised in the vicinity of South Han- 
over, in Southern Indiana, — raised in the Presbyterian Church, — presented 
a certificate, and it is recorded that on this certificate and her 'acceding 
to the principles of our church' she was received. It would seem that the 
pastorate of Brother McAuley in Jefferson lasted about four years. He 
must have left in 1842, as the next settlement was in the following year. 

" Rev. John Tod was installed pastor of Jefferson, Beaver Run, and 
Piney on the 15th of August, 1S43. His time was divided, — one-half to 
Jefferson, one-third to Beaver, and one-sixth to Piney. This congrega- 
tion was organized in the Associate Church, under the care of the Pres- 
bytery of Allegheny. 

"The United Presbyterian Congregation of Brookville was organized 
in the Associate Reformed Church, and continued in that connection till 
the union of the Associate and Associate Reformed Church was consum- 
mated in the city of Pittsburg, May, 185S. 

" Jefferson is perhaps the most recently settled of the counties in 
Western Pennsylvania. The first of those who settled here and felt an 
interest in our cause came about the year 1830, some earlier, some later, 
but no movement was made to have preaching here till 1836. 

" Isaac Temple, who was one of the first elders, went to Presbytery, 
and solicited preaching for the place where he lived. Of course he was 
encouraged, hence a subscription was taken for service to be rendered 
during the year 1837. 

" The first name on the list is that of David McCormick. I think he 
was one of the elders of the congregation, but whether he was ordained 
here or in the ])lace of his former residence we have at present no means 
of knowing. Then follows Thomas McCormick, Job McCreight, Job 
and W. Rogers, Levi G. Clover, Benjamin McCreight, William Clark, 
C. A. Alexander, A. Vasbinder, Daniel Coder, Joseph Kerr, James M. 
Craig, Isaac Tem])le, Andrew Moor, John McClelland, William McCul- 
lough, David Dennison, William McDonald, Alexander Hutchinson, 
Andrew McCormick, Charles Boner, Andrew Hunter. 

" This comes into my hands as the roll of honor. The first men who 
gave their names, and with their names their money, built up and sus- 
tained the Secession or Reformed Presbyterian cause in this county. Some 
of these were not then, nor ever became, members of the church which 
they chose to patronize. Some of them had perhaps little sympathy with 

250 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. ^ 

Christianity at all ; but I find them here signing their names and giving 
their support to a cause to which I have given the labor of my life. I 
honor them. Most of the names on that paper represent men of worth 
and weight of character, known in the neighborhood in which they re- 
side as such, and over all Jefferson County as it then was. It will be 
seen that the parties subscribing to this paper were widely scattered, — 
from Brookville to the vicinity of Rockdale and Brockwayville. The 
amount of this first subscription is fifty-four dollars. The compensation 
agreed upon among the psalm-singing churches was six dollars per Sab- 
bath. This same paper upon which is the subscription contains also the 
disbursement of the money. In this connection we find, first of all, the 
name of Joseph Osburn. With this brother I had no acquaintance. He 
belonged to the Associate Reformed branch of the United Presbyterian 
Church, and died several years before the union, while yet a young man. 

" The next name is that of Jonathan Fulton, of whom the same thing 
may be said. He died young. He is represented as gifted in a very 
high degree, both as a reasoner and a pulpit orator. Many of you well 
remember him. His ministrations here did much to give respectability 
to our cause. Joseph H. Pressly also ministered here at an early day and 
with much acceptance. This brother, who has now gone to his rest, 
represented to me, when in the act of moving to this place, that it was 
the place of all others he ever visited, the one where he wished to live. 
But a Providence shapes our ends differently from our anticipations, and 
even wishes and efforts to the contrary. This brother performed all his 
life-work in the city of Erie, and there he ended his life. 

" I find also among those who rendered acceptable service the names 
of M. H. Wilson, — this brother labored in Jacksonville, Indiana County, 
Pennsylvania, — A. G. Wallace, Samuel Brown, William Jamison, and 
others. These services covered a space of about twenty years, and 
were the means of keeping the people together and keeping up their 
sympathy with the cause. The pioneer church edifice was on Church 
Street, and was built about 1S45. 

" BEECH WOODS CONGREGATIOX. 

"David Dennison was a member of the Beechwoods Congregation, 
and died some time during the winter of 1875. 

"As far as I have the means of judging, it appears that Rev. Joseph 
Osburn was the first Associate Reformed minister who visited this section 
of country, I suppose in 1837. After him the name of N. C. Weed 
occurs as dispensing the Lord's Supper for the first time in this wilderness 
in 1842. 

" Shortly after this Rev. Alexander McCahen rendered service here 
as a stated supply for the space of four years. 

" The number of communing members at the first sacrament was 

251 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

thirteen. This communion was held in the barn of Elder Isaac Temple. 
David McCormick was also an elder officiating at the first communion, 
but whether either of these fathers, long since departed, was ordained 
here or had been in the exercise of that office previous to their coming 
here does not appear from any record. Warsaw was the residence of 
the brethren, and the congregation up to this time went by that name. 
The place of worship was about eight miles to the northeast of Brook- 
ville." '•' — Miss Scoff s Histoij of Jefferson County. 

This church has always been a consistent opponent of human slavery. 
The Scotch-Irish element, of which the church is largely composed, is 
usually stalwart on the side of all reforms and all right. 

This denomination holds a few distinctive principles, by which it is 
distinguished from the larger Presbyterian bodies. It holds to the exclu- 
sive use of an inspired psalmody; in theory it is opposed to the affiliation 
of its members with secret orders, and it practises a restricted communion. 

PIONEER METHODISM— CIRCUIT RIDERS— CHURCH AND MEMBERS 
IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

On the yth of March, 1736, John Wesley preached the pioneer Meth- 
odist sermon in America, in Savannah, Georgia. Other early Methodist 
service in the United States was conducted in New York City by a Mr. 
Embury, urged and assisted by Barbara Heck. Barbara Heck emigrated 
from Ireland to New York in 1765. From her zeal, activity, and pious 
work as a Christian she is called the mother of American Methodism. 
]\Iethodism was introduced into Pennsylvania in 1767 by Captain Thomas 
Webb, a soldier in the British army. AVebb was a preacher, and is called 
the apostle of American Methodism. In 1767 he visited Philadelphia, 
preached, and formed a class of seven persons. The first Annual Con- 
ferences of the Methodist Church held in America were in Philadelphia, — 
viz. : in the years 1773, 1774, and 1775. After this year all Conferences 
were held in Baltimore, ^Maryland, until the organization of the church in 
the New World. 

The pioneer Methodist preaching in Pennsylvania was in Philadel- 
phia, in a sail-loft near Second and Dock Streets. St. John's Church 
was established in 1769. ^Methodism was to be found in Philadelphia in 
1772, York in 1781, Wilkesbarre in 1778, Williamsport in 1791, and in 
Pittsburg in 1801. 

The pioneer Sunday-school in the world was opened at Glencastle, in 
England, in 17S1, by Robert Raikes. The idea was suggested to him by 
a young woman, who afterwards became Sophia Bradburn. This lady 
assisted him in the opening of the first school. The pioneer Sunday- 
schools were started in the New World in 1790 by an official ordinance 

* Dr. Vincent. 
252 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of the Methodist Conference establishing Sunday-schools to instruct poor 
children, white and black: "Let persons be appointed by the bishops, 
elders, deacons, or preachers to teach (gratis) all that \vill attend and 
have a capacity to learn, from six o'clock in the morning till ten, and 
from two o'clock in the afternoon until six, when it does not interfere 
with public worship." 

The Methodist Church was really the first temperance organization in 
America. The general rules of the society prohibited the use of liquor 
as a beverage. Other modern temperance organizations are supposed to 
have their beginning about iSii. But little was done after this period 
outside of the churches for about twenty-five years. 

Rev. William Watters was the pioneer American itinerant Methodist 
preacher. He was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, October i6, 1751. 

Until 1824 Western Pennsylvania, or "all west of the Susquehanna 
River, except the extreme northern part, was in the Baltimore Confer- 
ence." In 1824 the Pittsburg Conference was organized, and our wil- 
derness came under its jurisdiction. In 1833 ^^^ ^^^^ Methodist paper 
under the authority of the church was started. It was in Pittsburg, Penn- 
sylvania, and the paper is now called The Pittsburg Cliristiau Advocate. 
In 1S36 the Erie Conference was formed, and Jefferson County was 
placed within its jurisdiction. 

Methodism in Jefferson County has been, first, in the Baltimore Con- 
ference ; second, in the Pittsburg Conference ; and third, is now in the 
Erie Conference. 

The Methodists were slow in making an inroad in Jefferson County. 
The ground had been occupied by other denominations, and a hostile 
and bitter prejudice existed against the new "sect." 

The pioneer Methodist minister in the county was the Rev. Elijah 
Coleman. He was a local. 

The pioneer Methodist Church in the county was organized by him 
in Punxsutawney in 1821, ten members in all. This circuit was a part 
of the Baltimore Conference then, and contained forty-two appointments. 
It took the preacher six weeks to travel over it. In 1830 Punxsutawney 
was in the Pittsburg Conference. In 1836 this church was taken into the 
Erie Conference. 

The pioneer church edifice in the county was erected there in 1833. 
Services previous to that time were held in Jacob Hoover's grist-mill. 

The pioneer circuit in the county was the Mahoning district, which 
was created in 181 2 by the Baltimore Conference, but no appointments 
were made in our county until 1822. 

The pioneer circuit riders in this district were as follows, — viz. : Revs. 
Ezra Booth, William AVestlake, 1822 ; Revs. Dennis Goddard, Elijah H. 
Field, 1823; Revs. Ira Eddy, B. O. Plimpton, 1824; Rev. I. H. Tackett, 
1825; Rev. James Babcock, 1826-27; ^^v. Nathaniel Callender, 1S28; 

253 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Revs. John Johnson, John C. Ayers, 1S29 ; Revs. Fleck and Day, 1830; 
Rev. Summerville, 1832; Rev. Bump, 1833; Rev. Kinnear, 1834; Rev. 
Butt, 1835; Rev. S. Heard, 1837; Rev. J. P. Benn, 1838 — associate, 
Rev. R. Peck; Revs. Shinebaugh and Peck, 1839; Revs. Mershon and 
George Reeser, 1840; Revs. John Graham and George Reeser, 1841 ; 
Revs. H. W. Monks and I. Scofield, 1S42; Revs. D. H. Jack and H. 
W. Monks, 1843. 

Summerville, or Troy, was an early field of Methodism. Darius and 
Nathan Carrier were zealous Methodists, and frequently opened their 
homes for service as early as 1825-26. The first church was organized 
there in 1S30 by Rev. Ayers. 

Missionary Methodist preachers travelled through this wilderness in 
those times, preaching anywhere and everywhere they could. This itin- 
erancy makes it hard to systemize the church history. 

The Brookville Church seems to have been the head-quarters for the 
northern part of the county, and the first class was organized in 182S in 
an old log barn at the head of Litch's dam, on the east side of the North 
Fork. The members of this class were five, — Cyrus Butler and wife, 
David Butler and wife, and John Dixon, Jr. A Sunday-school was 
started, with Cyrus Butler as superintendent. Services were held in 
private houses, the old jail, and in the court-house, as the congregation 
was too weak to build a house even as late as 1845. 

The pioneer church was organized in Brookville under Rev. Johnson 
in 1829. In 1829 and 1830 all services were held in the house of David 
Butler, on the east side of the North Fork Creek, at the upper end of 
Litch's dam. 

The pioneer and early members (1S29) were David Butler and wife, 
Cyrus Butler and wife, John Long and wife, William McKee, William 
Steel, and John Dixon, Jr. The last is the only one now living. 

The pioneer circuit riders in the north side of the county were : Rev. 
John Johnson, 1829; Rev. Jonathan Ayers, 1S30; Eev. Job Watson, 
1831 ; Revs. Abner Jackson and A. C. Barnes, 1832; Rev. Abner Jack- 
son, 1833, who had twenty-nine preaching-places and a circuit of two 
hundred and fifty miles (it was the Brookville and Ridgeway mission) ; 
Rev. A. Kellar, 1834; Revs. John Sava and Charles C. Best, 1835; 
Revs. J. A. Hallock and J. R. Locke, 1836 ; Rev. Stephen Heard, 1837 ; 
Rev. L. Whipple, 1838; Rev. H. S. Hitchcock, 1839 ; Rev. D. Prichard, 
1840. In 1 84 1, supplies and Revs. G. F. Reeser and John Graham ; in 
1842, Revs. Isaac Scofield and William Monks; in 1843, Revs. William 
Monks and D. H. Jack; in 1844, Revs. S. Churchill and J. K. Coxson ; 
in 1845, Revs. R. M. Bear and Thomas Benn. 

These ministers always travelled on horseback. The horse was usu- 
ally " bobbed," and you could see that he had a most excellent skeleton. 
These itinerants all wore leggings, and carried on the saddle a large pair 

254 



PIOxNEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of saddle-bags, which contained a clean shirt, a Bible, and a hymn-book. 
The sermon was on a cylinder in the head of the preacher, and was ready 
to be graphophoned at any point or time. 

The pioneer presiding elders were: Rev. Wilder P. Mack, 1828-31; 
Rev. Joseph S. Barris, 1832; Rev. Zerah P. Caston, 1833-34; Rev. 
Joshua Monroe, 1S35 ; Rev. Joseph S. Barris, 1836; Rev. William Car- 
roll, 1837-40; Rev. John Bain, 1S41-42; Rev. John Robinson, 1843. 




Methodist Episcopal Church, Broolcville, Pennsylvania. Erected in 18S6. 



Pioneer Presiding Elder, Brookville Mission District : " Rev. William 
Carroll, presiding elder on the Brookville Mission District, was a stout, 
energetic man, of medium preaching talents, and was selected for this 
field of labor because it re(iuired bone and muscle, as well as faith and 

255 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

zeal, to accomplish its duties. That entire region of country was new, 
wild, rough, and mountainous, with many rapid bridgeless streams to 
cross. The settlements were far from each other, and the people poor 
but generous. Never since the days of Young and Finley did any pre- 
siding elder encounter such difficulties. Calvinism in its primitive char- 
acteristics had been planted there, and its advocates contested the ground 
with great tenacity and zeal. But to this field of toil and sacrifice the 
new presiding elder and his little band of youthful heroes hastened away 
and sowed the good seed with tears, and reaped a rich harvest of souls. 
That sterile soil has since become very fruitful."- — Gregg's History of 
Met]iodis)ii. 

Ridgeway Mission was created in 1834. Pioneer circuit riders : Rev. 
G. D. Kinnear; 1835, Rev. Alured Plimpton. 

As a rule, these pioneer Methodists were good singers, and when and 
wherever they held a service in this wilderness they usually made our 
hills and valleys vocal with the glorious and beautiful hymns of John and 
Charles Wesley. 

The pioneer female to pray in public or in the general prayer-meet- 
ings in Brookville was "Mother Fogle," Rev. Christopher Fogle's first 
wife. 

The pay of the pioneer Methodist ministers and preachers, and for 
their wives and children, was as follows : 

'^1800. — ' I. The annual salary of the travelling preachers shall be 
eighty dollars and their travelling expenses. 

" ' 2. The annual allowance of the wives of travelling jjreachers shall 
be eighty dollars. 

" '3. Each child of a travelling preacher shall be allowed sixteen dol- 
lars annually to the age of seven years, and twenty-four dollars annually 
from the age of seven to fourteen years ; nevertheless, this rule shall not 
apply to the children of preachers whose families are provided for by 
other means in their circuits respectively. 

" ' 4. The salary of the superannuated, worn-out, and supernumerary 
preachers shall be eighty dollars annually. 

" * 5. The annual allowance of the wives of superannuated, worn out, 
and supernumerary preachers shall be eighty dollars. 

" '6. The annual allowance of the widows of travelling, superannu- 
ated, worn-out, and supernumerary preachers shall be eighty dollars. 

" ' 7. The orphans of travelling, superannuated, worn-out, and super- 
numerary preachers shall be allowed by the Annual Conference, if possi- 
ble, by such means as they can devise, sixteen dollars annually.' 

'^1804. — The following inserted in clause 3, before 'nevertheless' : 
' and those preachers whose wives are dead shall be allowed for each 
child annually a sum sufficient to pay the board of such child or children 
during the above term of years.' 

256 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"The following added at the close of the section : 

*' ' 8. Local preachers shall be allowed a salary in certain cases as 
mentioned.' 

'' 1816. — 'The allowance of all preachers and their wives raised to 
one hundred dollars.' 

''1824. — Under clause 2 (allowance to wives) it is added, 'But this 
provision shall not apply to the wives of those preachers who were single 
when they were received for trial, and marry under four years, until the 
expiration of said four years. ' 

^^1828. — The seventh clause (relating to orphans) was altered so as 
to read as follows : 

" ' 7. The orphans of travelling, supernumerary, superannuated, and 
worn-out preachers shall be allowed by the Annual Conferences the same 
sums respectively which are allowed to the children of living preachers. 
And on the death of a preacher, leaving a child or children without so 
much of worldly goods as should be necessary to his or her or their sup- 
port, the Annual Conference of which he was a member shall raise, in 
such manner as may be deemed best, a yearly sum for the subsistence 
and education of such orphan child or children, until he, she, or they 
shall have arrived at fourteen years of age, the amount of which yearly 
sum shall be fixed by the committee of the Conference at each session in 
advance. ' 

" i8j2. — The following new clause was inserted : 

" ' 8. The more effectually to raise the amount necessary to meet the 
above-mentioned allowance, let there be made weekly class collections in 
all our societies where it is practicable ; and also for the support of mis- 
sions and missionary schools under our care.' 

^^ i8j6. — The regulation respecting those who marry 'under four 
years' was struck out, and bishops mentioned by name as standing on the 
same footing as other travelling preachers. Clauses i, 2, 4, and 5 thrown 
into two, as follows : 

" ' I. The annual allowance of the married travelling, supernumerary, 
and superannuated preachers and the bishops shall be two hundred dol- 
lars and their travelling expenses. 

" ' 2. The annual allowance of the unmarried travelling, supernumer- 
ary, and superannuated preachers and the bishops shall be one hundred 
dollars and their travelling expenses.' 

" The pioneer members were prohibited from wearing ' needless orna- 
ments, such as rings, earrings, lace, necklace, and ruffles.' " — Strickland's 
History of Discipline. 

PIONEER AND EARLY CAMP-MEETINGS. 

The pioneer camp-meeting in the United States was held, between 
1800 and 1 80 1, at Cane Ridge, in Kentucky. It was under the auspices 

257 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of several different denominational ministers. The meeting was kept up 
day and night. It was supposed that there were in attendance during the 
meetings from twelve to twenty thousand people. Stands were erected 
through the woods, from which one, two, three, and four preachers 
would be addressing the thousands at the same time. It was at this place 
and from this time our camp-meetings took their rise. 

Evans, the Shaker historian, who is strong in the gift of faith, tells us 
that " the subjects of this work were greatly exercised in dreams, visions, 
revelations, and the spirit of the prophecy. In these gifts of the Spirit 
they saw and testified that the great day of God was at hand, that Christ 
was about to set up his kingdom on earth, and that this very work would 
terminate in the full manifestation of the latter day of glory." 

From another authority, endowed perhaps with less fervor but with 
more of common sense, we get a description of these "exercises," which 
has a familiar ring that seems to bring it very near home. " The people 
remained on the ground day and night, listening to the most exciting 
sermons, and engaging in a mode of worship which consisted in alternate 
crying, laughing, singing, and shouting, accompanied with gesticulations 
of a most extraordinary character. Often there would be an unusual out- 
cry, some bursting forth into loud ejaculations of thanksgiving, others 
exhorting their careless friends to ' turn to the Lord,' some struck with 
terror and hastening to escape, others trembling, weeping, and swooning 
away, till every appearance of life was gone and the extremities of the 
body assumed the coldness of a corpse. At one meeting not less than a 
thousand persons fell to the ground, apparently without sense or motion. 
It was common to see them shed tears plentifully about an hour before 
they fell. They were then seized with a general tremor, and sometimes 
they uttered one or two piercing shrieks in the moment of falling. This 
latter phenomenon was common to both sexes, to all ages, and to all sorts 
of characters. 

"After a time these crazy performances in the sacred name of re- 
ligion became so much a matter of course that they were regularly classi- 
fied in categories as the rolls, the jerks, the barks, etc. The rolling ex- 
ercise was effected by doubling themselves up, then rolling from one side 
to the other like a hoop, or in extending the body horizontally and roll- 
ing over and over in the filth like so many swine. The jerk consisted in 
violent spasms and twistings of every part of the body. Sometimes the 
head was twisted round so that the face was turned to the back, and the 
countenance so much distorted that not one of its features was to be rec- 
ognized. When attacked by the jerks they sometimes hopped like frogs, 
and the face and limbs underwent the most hideous contortions. The 
bark consisted in throwing themselves on all-fours, growling, showing 
their teeth, and barking like dogs. Sometimes a number of people 
crouching down in front of the minister continued to bark as long as he 

258 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

preached. These last were supposed to be more especially endowed with 
the gifts of prophecy, dreams, rhapsodies, and visions of angels." 

Exactly when the pioneer camp-meeting was held in Jefferson County 
is unknown to me. Darius Carrier advertised one in t\\Q Jeffersonian as 
early as 1836, to be held near Summerville. The first one I remember 
was near Brookville, on the North Fork, on land now owned by F, 
Swartzlander. Others were held near Roseville, and in Perry township 
and kindred points. The rowdy element attended these services, and 
there was usually a good deal of disturbance from whiskey and fights, 
which, of course, greatly annoyed the good people. The first " Dutch 
camp-meeting" was held in what is now Ringgold township. In fact, 
these German meetings were only abandoned a few years ago. I repro- 
duce a " Dutch camp-meeting hymn" : 

" CAMP-MEETING HYMN. 

" Satan and I we can't agree, 
Halleo, halleolujah ! 
For I hate him and he hates me, 
Halleo, halleolujah ! 

" I do believe without a doubt, 
Halleo, halleolujah ! 
The Christian has a right to shout, 
Halleo, halleolujah ! 

" We'll whip the devil round the stump, 
Halleo, halleolujah ! 
And hit him a kick at every jump, 
Halleo, halleolujah !" 

The mode of conducting our wood meetings was patterned after the 
original in Kentucky. The manner of worship and conversions were the 
same, and while a great deal of harsh criticism has been made against 
this mode of religious worship, there is one thing that must be admitted, 
— many bad, wicked persons were changed into good religious people. 
Pitch-pine fagots were burned at night to light the grounds. 

BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The pioneer Baptist preaching in Pennsylvania was at Cold Spring, 
Bucks County, in 16S4, by Rev. Thomas Dungan. This church died in 
1702. 

In 181S, Rev. Jonathan Nichols settled on Brandy Camp, in the Little 
Toby Valley. He was a regularly ordained Baptist minister and an edu- 
cated physician. His labors extended all over this county. He was the 
pioneer Baptist. His was " the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 
Prepare ye the way of the I-ord, make his paths straight." Rev. Jona- 
than Nichols migrated to this region from Connecticut. He died in 
1S46, aged seventy-one years. His wife Hannah died in 1859, aged 

259 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

eighty-two years. As a physician his labors were extended, and his 
ministry was well received by the scattered people of all beliefs. For a 
while he adhered to the close communion, but owing to the different 
beliefs adhered to by his hearers, he after a few years invited all Christian 
people who attended his services to the "Lord's table." His daughter 
told me his heart would not let him do otherwise. One who knew him 
well wrote of him : " He was a generous, kind-hearted gentleman, genial 
and urbane in his manners, with a helping hand ready to assist the 
needy, and had kind words to comfort the sorrowing." Winter's snow 
never deterred him from pastoral work or visits to the sick. After 
Nichols came Rev. Samuel Miles, of Clearfield County. The first regular 
Baptist church was organized in what is now Washington township, in 
June, 1834, with thirteen members, in Henry Keys' barn, by Rev. Brown. 
Henry Keys and James McConnell were elected deacons. The members 
of this pioneer church were James McConnell, Henry Keys and wife, 
Miss Betty Keys, Mrs. Eliza Haney, Mary Ann McConnell, Mrs. Catha- 
rine Keys, Margaret McConnell, Mrs. Nancy McGhee, Mrs. McClelland, 
Miss Hall, and Robert Mcintosh and wife. The pioneer church in the 
county was erected on the Keys farm in 1841-42. It was a frame. James 
McConnell was the carpenter. The immersions took place in Mill Creek, 
now Allen's Mills. Before organizing their own church the men and 
women of the Mcintosh, Keys, and McConnell families would start early 
on Sunday morning and walk to Zion Church, in Clarion County, thirty 
miles, and return the same day. 

BROOKVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH MISSION. 

The pioneer minister to do mission labor was Rev. Samuel Miles. He 
appeared on this field in 1833. 

The pioneer Baptist communicant to locate in Brookville was James 
Craig, in 1834. 

The pioneer convert in the borough was Miss Jane Craig. She was 
"immersed" near the covered bridge by Rev. Samuel Miles in 1S38. 

The second minister to perform mission work was Rev. Thomas E. 
Thomas, called Father Thomas. He came here from 1839 to 1843. The 
third minister to pioneer as a missionary in Brookville was the Rev. 
Thomas Wilson. He preached in Brookville in 1844. He pioneered in 
the county as early as 1840. 

The early Baptists in this mission were Thomas Humphrey and wife, 
John Bullers and wife, Michael Troy and wife, William Humphrey and 
wife, Mrs. John Baum, William Russell and wife, Samuel C. Espy and 
wife, and others. 

The pioneer and early " immersion" points were at the covered bridge 
at the junction of Sandy Lick and North Fork Creeks, — at or in the tail- 
race and in the sluice, — the mill-dam of R. P. Barr. 

260 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The Punxsutawney Church was organized October 30, 1S40, by Rev. 
Thomas E. Thomas and Benoni Allen, with the following members by 
letter, — viz. : 




Brookville Baptist Church. Erected in 18S3. 

Isaac London, Hiram London, Lemuel Carey, Sr., Hannah Carey, 
John R. Reed, jNIargaret Reed, James Armstrong, Mary Armstrong, 

261 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Esther McMillan, Eliza Cochrane, Sarah Gilhausen, and Elizabeth Mc- 
Cracken. Revs. Thomas and Allen continued to preach, each one- 
fourth of his time, until April i, 1S41. ^Villiam Campbell was elected 
clerk. The pioneer immersions were Stephen London and James Mc- 
Conaughey, — viz., on November i, 1840. On the 2d the following were 
immersed, — viz. : William Davis, William Campbell, Ephraim Bair, Jacob 
Bair, Samuel Gilhausen, John Hunt, and Prudence Stewart. On the 3d 
day of this month the following were immersed : James H. Bell, Ann 
Bell, William Torance, Lemuel Carey, Jr., Mary Davis, Jane Hunt, Eliz- 
abeth McDermott, and Jane Major. The Rev. Thomas continued with 
this church until October, 1S41, when he was succeeded by the Rev. 
Thomas Wilson. 

THE WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH. 
THE BEECH WOODS CHURCH. 

"The society was organized in 1S35, under the direction of Rev. 
Stoughton. The first members were Henry Keys and wife, Eliza Keys, 
Joseph Keys, James McConnell and two sisters, Mrs. Osborne, and several 
others whose names are forgotten. The first elders were Henry Keys and 
James McConnell. The first stated pastor was Rev. Samuel Miles, of 
Milesburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The first Baptist in the county 
was Eliza Keys, a sister of Henry and daughter of Joseph Keys. She was 
a woman of unusual energy, and whose qualities of mind and heart were 
eminently designed for the duties of a missionary, as she was in deed if 
not in name. From 1824 to the organization of the church in the 
county they went to Clarion County, and worshipped in the old ' Zion' 
Church and in the houses of Messrs. Lewis, Frampton, and Williams, and 
latterly in a little frame church near Corbett's Mills. The distance trav- 
elled by the members of the congregation was from twenty- eight to forty 
miles, and many of the good people traversed the country on foot, and 
nothing but sickness prevented them from a regular attendance on divine 
services. Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, whose services are mentioned in 
brief in a sketch of the Punxsutawney Baptist Church, was one of the 
leading preachers in the Clarion region, and by his efforts built up the 
cause in Western Pennsylvania. In 1825 the only Baptist churches in 
Western Pennsylvania were Pittsburg, one ; Huntington, one ; IMilesburg, 
one ; and Freeport, one. In 1826 a Baptist church was erected near Cor- 
bett's Mills, Clarion County, and thither the people of that faith were 
accustomed to congregate till the erection of a little church in Beech- 
woods, the date being 1837. This in time was succeeded by the ])resent 
edifice." 

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The pioneer Catholic service in Pennsylvania was in Philadelphia in 
1708. The pioneer priest was either Polycarp Wicksted or James Had- 

262 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dock. The pioneer church erected was St. Joseph's, in Philadelphia, in 
1730. 

The pioneer Catholic to locate in the county was perhaps John 




Catholic Church, BrDokville, Pennsylvania. Erected in 1S75. 

Dougherty, of Brookville. He came in 1831. The pioneer priest to 
visit Brookville was the Rev. John O'Neill, of Freeport, Pennsylvania. 
He visited here in 1832, and performed the pioneer baptism,— viz., of 

26-, 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Miss Kate, the daughter of John Dougherty. There was no resident 
priest here until 1847. The pioneer Catholics in the county were at- 
tended by priests from Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties. Pioneer 
services were held in the houses of John Dougherty, John Gallagher, 
Jacob Hoffman, and others. 



THE MORMON CHURCH IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

About 1 81 5 there lived in Wayne County, New York, a young man 
by the name of Joseph Smith. In the twenties he proclaimed himself a 
prophet from God. In 1827 he published to the world that an angel had 
placed in his hands some golden plates, with a pair of spectacles, too, 
through which he alone could decipher the writing on the plates. His 
revelation from God consisted of a book styled the Book of Mormon. 
The book is a silly, childish kind of a romance. I possessed a copy for 
many years and tried at different times to read it through, but never had 
the grace or gift of continuance. This book pretends to give a history 
of Nephi, a Hebrew, who, six hundred years before the advent of Christ, 
was miraculously carried from Palestine in vessels to this American con- 
tinent. When Nephi landed on this continent there were no inhabitants, 
and the American Indians are declared by the book to be the descend- 
ants of Nephi. The Mormons taught that there were many Gods in 
in heaven, and that each God had many wives and children, — viz. : 
Smith would be a god ; his superior would be Jesus ; above Jesus would 
be Adam, above Adam would be Jehovah, and above all would be Elo- 
him. In 1830, Smith had about thirty believers, and organized his church 
at Manchester, New York. In 1831, under the lead of an angel, this band 
moved to Kirtland, Ohio. In 1838 they migrated to Missouri. From 
here they moved to Illinois, and built the city of Nauvoo. In the early 
forties Smith received a " revelation" establishing polygamy in the 
church. This caused internal dissensions, Smith was arrested, placed in 
jail, and finally shot by a mob. Brigham Young was then elected prophet, 
and the church migrated in a body beyond the Rocky Mountains to what 
is now the State of Utah. 

PIONEER MORMON MISSIONARY. 

" Mormonism ! On Saturday evening last our borough was visited by 
a youth of apparently not more than twenty-two years of age, a graduate 
of the disciple Jo Smith, S. Rigdon, and others of the Mormon creed, 
fresh from the ' Holy Land.' He remained here over Sabbath, during 
which time he kept himself principally secluded from company till even- 
ing, when he appeared in the court-house, and attempted to instruct the 
citizens of this place in the ' sublime mysteries' of Mormonism (?), but 
his 'new-fangled doctrine' didn't take. 

264 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"In the prosecution of his mission he labored to prove that events of 
transcendent importance were about being ushered in ; that the millen- 
nium was dawning on our astonished visions ; that a revelation had been 
made on plates of gold to the said Jo Smith by the hands of an angel, 
and last, though not least, that a revelation of the hidden mysteries were 
important, etc. 

" He taxed his most deceptive genius — a science in which he appears 
to be well versed — to rivet the attention of the congregation, by telling 
them that he had 'strange things yet to tell them,' and finally brought 
his exhibition to a close. We have not learned that he discipled any 
here, but believe that the decision and intelligence of the people of Jef- 
ferson County is a sure and certain guarantee against such delusions ever 
gaining their credence. He was permitted to depart in peace." — Brook- 
ville Rcpithlican, Thursday, October 12, 1837. 

Our brother, the editor, was not exactly correct in his estimate of the 
infcUii:;eiicc of the people of Jefferson County, for quite a little congrega- 
tion of Mormons was formed in the extreme eastern end of Snyder town- 
ship, this county, and the western portion of Fox township, Clearfield 
County. The principal members were some of the Cobbs, Heaths, 
Bundys, Hoyts, and others. Religious meetings were held in each other's 
houses for some time. A number of these members migrated to the 
" Holy Land." 

LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

The pioneer Lutheran congregation in the United States was at New 
Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with Justus Faulkner, pas- 
tor, in 1703. 

The pioneer Lutheran minister to visit this county was the Rev. 
George Young, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Rev. Young or- 
ganized the pioneer church in the county in 1S35, and erected a log 
building for that purpose, to which was attached a cemetery. The pio- 
neer services were held in the barn of Abraham Hoch, one mile south of 
Sprankle's Mill, and now Oliver township. Communion was commem- 
orated in this barn. The pioneer log church building was erected in 
1S38, about half a mile from Mr. Hoch's, on the farm now occupied by 
Boaz D. Blose. This log church was used for ten years, when it was 
abandoned for school purposes, and a large frame house of worship was 
then erected on the ridge two miles from Sprankle's Mill. This congre- 
gation was and is still known as St. John's, General Council. 

The second Lutheran church organized was in 1838, and a log build- 
ing erected. This church was also called St. John's, and belonged to the 
General Synod branch of the denomination. Joel Spyker and Peter 
Thrush took an active part in the organization. This church was on 
what is now Andrew Ohl's farm, and was about three and one-half miles 
18 265 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

south of Brookville. The pioneer members at this communion were 
Thomas Holt, Peter Thrush and wife, Samuel Johns and wife, Mattie 
Chesly, Charles Merriman and wife, Armenia Cxrove, Hannah Himes, 
Mary Johnson, Jacob Wolfgang and wife, Mary Spyker, and Joseph 
Kaylor. 

The pioneer preaching in Brookville was by the Rev. Young. He 
preached in the homes of members and in the second story of the old 
stone jail. Rev. John Rengan, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, preached in 
the jail in 1S44. No organization was effected. Rev. John Nuner came 
after Rengan, but in what year and for how long is unknown. 

The pioneer Lutherans in Brookville were John and Catherine Eason, 
Daniel Coder and wife, Hannah McKinley, Mary A. Yoemans, Jacob 
Burkett and wife, Jacob Steck and wife, John Boucher and wife, Maria 
Von Schroeder. Pioneer elder, Daniel Coder. Pioneer deacon, John 
Boucher. 

Lutheran services were also held at Paradise, Grubes, Reynoldsville, 
Emerickville, Punxsutawney, and Ringgold, but no dates of service or 
records of organization can be found. I acknowledge valuable aid in 
this compilation to Mrs. Virginia Blood. 



CHAPTER XV. 

WHITE SLAVERY — ORIGIN — NATURE IN ROME, GREECE, AND EUROPE — AFRI- 
CAN SLAVERY IN PENNSYLVANIA — GEORGE BRYAN — PIONEER COLORED 

SETTLER IN JEFFERSON COUNTY — CENSUS, ETC. DAYS OF BONDAGE IN 

THIS COUNTY. 

White slavery is older than history. Its origin is supposed to be 
from kidnapping, piracy, and in captives taken in war. Christians en- 
slaved all barbarians and barbarians enslaved Christians. Early history 
tells us that Rome and Creece were great markets for all kinds of slaves, 
slave-traders, slave-owners, etc. The white slaves of Europe were mostly 
obtained in Russia and Poland in times of peace. All fathers could sell 
children. The poor could be sold for debt. The poor could sell them- 
selves. But slavery did not exist in the poor and ignorant alone. The 
most learned in science, art, and mechanism were bought and sold at 
prices ranging in our money from one hundred to three hundred dollars. 
Once sold, whether kidnapped or not, there was no redress, except as to 
the will of the master. At one time in the history of Rome white slaves 
sold for sixty-two and a half cents apiece in our money. The state, the 
church, and individuals all owned slaves. Every wicked device that 
might and power could practise was used to enslave men and women 

266 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

without regard to nationality or color. And when enslaved, no matter 
how well educated, the slaves possessed no right in law and were not 
deemed persons in law, and had no right in and to their children. 
Slavery as it existed among the Jews was a milder form than that which 




existed in any other nation. The ancients regarded black slaves as 
luxuries, because there was but little traffic in them until about the year 
1 441, and it is at that date that the modern African slave-trade was 
commenced by the Portuguese. The |)ioneer English African slave- 

267 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

trader was Sir John Hawkins. Great companies were formed in London 
to carry on African traffic, of which Charles II. and James II. were mem- 
bers. It was money and the large profits in slavery, whether white or 
black, that gave it such a hold on church and state. The English were 
the most cruel African slave- traders. (Genuine white slavery never ex- 
isted in what is now the United States. In the year a.d. 1620 the pio- 
neer African slaves were landed at Hampton Roads in Virginia, and 
nineteen slaves were sold. In 1790 there were six hundred and ninety- 
seven thousand six hundred and eighty-one African slaves in the Middle 
States. 

Slavery was introduced in Pennsylvania in 16S1, and was in full force 
until the act quoted below for its gradual abolition was enacted in 1780, 
by which, as you will see, adult slaves were liberated on July 4, 1827, 
and the children born before that date were to become free as they 
reached their majority. This made the last slave in the State become a 
free person about i860. 

In 1790 Pennsj'Ivania had slaves 3737 

In iSoo " •' " 1706 

In 1810 '• '• " 795 

In 1S20 " '' " 211 

In 1830 '• '> " 403 

In 1S40 " " " 64 

In 1S60 " " " (in Lancaster County) . I 

( )n December 4, 1S33, sixty persons met in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, and organized the American Anti-Slavery Society. 

NEGRO SLAVERY. 

" He found his fellow guilty — of a skin not colored like his own ; for such a cause 
doonis him as his lawful prey." 

Negro slaves were held in each of the thirteen original States. 

In March, 17S0, Pennsylvania enacted her gradual abolition law. 
Massachusetts, by constitutional enactment in 1780, abolished slavery. 
Rhode Island and Connecticut were made free States in 1784, New 
Jersey in 1804, New York in 1S17, and New Hampshire about 1S08 or 
1810. The remaining States of the thirteen — viz., Maryland, Delaware, 
^'irginia, North and South Carolina, and Ceorgia — each retained their 
human chattels until the close of the Civil War. In one hundred years, 
from 1676 until 1776, it is estimated that three million people were im- 
ported and sold as slaves in the United States. 

As late as 1S60 there was still one slave in Pennsylvania; his name 
was Lawson Lee Taylor, and he belonged to James Clark, of Donegal 
township, Lancaster County. 

26S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The first man who died in the Revolution was a colored man, and 
Peter Salem, a negro, decided the battle of Bunker Hill ; clinging to the 
Stars and Stripes, he cried, " I'll bring back the colors or answer to God 
the reason why !" His example fired the hearts of the soldiers to greater 
valor, and the great battle was won by our men. 

" It was on the soil of Pennsylvania in 1682 that the English penalty 
of death on over two hundred crimes was negatived by statute law, and 
the penalty of death retained on only one crime, — viz., wilful murder. 
It was in the province of Pennsylvania that the law of primogeniture was 
abolished. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the first mint to coin 
money in the United States was established. It was on the soil of Penn- 
sylvania in 1S29, and between Honesdale and Carbondale, that the pio- 
neer railroad train, propelled by a locomotive, was run in the New 
^^'orld. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the first Continental 
Congress met. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the great Magna 
Charta of our liberties was written, signed, sealed, and delivered to the 
world. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the fathers declared ' that 
all men are born free and equal, and are alike entitled to life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness.' It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that 
the grand old Republican party was organized, and the declarations of 
our fathers reaffirmed and proclaimed anew to the world. It was on the 
soil of Pennsylvania that Congress created our national emblem, the 
Stars and Stripes; and it was upon the soil of Pennsylvania that fair 
women made that flag in accordance with the resolution of Congress. It 
was upon the soil of Pennsylvania that our flag was first unfurled to the 
breeze, and from that day to this that grand old flag has never been dis- 
graced nor defeated. It was upon the Delaware River of Pennsylvania 
that the first steamer was launched. It was in Philadelphia that the first 
national bank opened its vaults to commerce. It was upon the soil of 
Pennsylvania that Colonel Drake first drilled into the bowels of the earth 
and obtained the oil that now makes the ' bright light' of every fireside 
' from Greenland's icy mountains to India's coral strand.' It was on the 
soil of Pennsylvania that the first Christian Bible Society in the New 
^^'orld was organized. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the first 
school for the education and maintenance of soldiers' orphans was 
erected. It was on the soil of Pennsylvania that the first medical col- 
lege for the New World was established. 

"And now, Mr. President, I say to you that it was permitted to 
Pennsylvania intelligence, to Pennsylvania charity, to Pennsylvania peo- 
ple, to erect on Pennsylvania soil, with Pennsylvania money, the first 
insane institution, aided and encouraged by a State, in the history of 
the world." 

The above is an extract from a speech made by me when Senator in the 
Senate of Pennsylvania in i SS i . I reproduce it here only to reassert it and 

269 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

crown it with the fact that Pennsylvania was the first of the united colonies 
to acknowledge before God and the nations of the earth, by legal enact- 
ment, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Pennsylva- 
nia was the first State or nation in the New World to enact a law for the 
abolition of human slavery. This act of justice was passed, too, when 
the struggle for independence was still undetermined. The British were 
pressing us on the east, and the savages on the west were torturing and 
killing the patriot fathers and mothers of the Revolution. 

George Bryan originated, prepared, offered, and carried this measure 
successfully through the Legislature. I quote from his remarks on this 
measure : " Honored will that State be in the annals of mankind which 
shall first abolish this violation of the rights of mankind ; and the 
memories of those will be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance 
who shall pass the law to restore and establish the rights of human nature 
in Pennsylvania." George Bryan did this. He was born in Dublin, 
Ireland, in 1732, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 179 1. To ex- 
hibit the advanced sentiment of George Bryan, I republish his touching 
and beautiful preamble to his law, and a section or two of the law which 
will explain its work. 

''An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. 

" When we contemplate our abhorrence of that condition to which the 
arms and tyranny of Great Britain were exerted to reduce us, when we look 
back on the variety of dangers to which we have been exposed, and how 
miraculously our wants in many instances have been supplied, and our de- 
liverances wrought, when even hope and human fortitude have become un- 
equal to the conflict, we are unavoidably led to a serious and grateful sense 
of the manifold blessings which we have undeservedly received from the 
hand of that Being from whom every good and perfect gift cometh. Im- 
pressed with these ideas, we conceive that it is our duty, and we rejoice that 
it is in our power, to extend a portion of that freedom to others which hath 
been extended to us, and release from that state of thraldom to which 
we ourselves were tyrannically doomed, and from which we have now 
every prospect of being delivered. It is not for us to inquire why, in the 
creation of mankind, the inhabitants of the several parts of the earth 
were distinguished by a difference in feature or complexion. It is suffi- 
cient to know that all are the work of an Almighty hand. We find, in 
the distribution of the human species, that the most fertile as well as the 
most barren parts of the earth are inhabited by men of complexions dif- 
ferent from ours, and from each other; from whence we may reasonably, 
as well as religiously, infer that He who placed them in their various 
situations hath extended equally His care and protection to all, and that 
it becometh not us to counteract His mercies. We esteem it a peculiar 
blessing granted to us that we are enabled this day to add one more step 

270 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to universal civilization, by removing, as much as possible, the sorrows 
of those who have lived in undeserved bondage, and from which, by the 
assumed authority of the kings of (rreat Britain, no effectual legal relief 
could be obtained. Weaned, by a long course of experience, from those 
narrow prejudices and partialities we had imbibed, we find our hearts 
enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards men of all conditions 
and nations ; and we conceive ourselves at this particular period extraor- 
dinarily called upon, by the blessings which we have received, to mani- 
fest the sincerity of our profession and to give a substantial proof of our 
gratitude. 

"II. And whereas the condition of those persons, who have hereto- 
fore been denominated Negro and Mulatto slaves, has been attended 
with circumstances which not only deprived them of the common bless- 
ings that they were by nature entitled to, but has cast them into the 
deepest afflictions, by an unnatural separation and sale of husband and 
wife from each other and from their children, an injury the greatness of 
which can only be conceived by supposing that we were in the same un- 
happy case. In justice, therefore, to persons so unhappily circumstanced, 
and who, having no prospect before them whereon they may rest their 
sorrows and their hopes, have no reasonable inducement to render their 
service to society, which they otherwise might, and also in grateful 
commemoration of our own happy deliverance from that state of un- 
conditional submission to which we were doomed by the tyranny of 
Britain. 

" III. Be it enacted, and it is hereby enacted. That all persons, as well 
Negroes and Mulattoes as others, who shall be born within this State 
from and after the passage of this act, shall not be deemed and con- 
sidered as servants for life, or slaves ; and that all servitude for life, or 
slavery of children, in consequence of the slavery of their mothers, in 
the case of all children born within this State from and after the passing 
of this act as aforesaid, shall be, and hereby is, utterly taken away, ex- 
tinguished, and forever abolished. 

"IV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That every Negro 
and Mulatto child born within this State after the passing of this act as 
aforesaid (who would, in case this act had not been made, have been 
born a servant for years, or life, or a slave) shall be deemed to be, and 
shall be, by virtue of this act, the servant of such person, or his or her 
assigns, who would in such case have been entitled to the service of such 
child, until such child shall attain unto the age of twenty-eight years, in 
the manner and on the conditions whereon servants bound by indenture 
for four years are or may be retained and holden ; and shall be liable to 
like correction and punishment, and entitled to like relief, in case he or 
she be evilly treated by his or her master or mistress, and to like freedom, 
dues, and other privileges, as servants bound by indenture for four years 

271 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

are or may be entitled, unless the person to whom the service of such 
child shall belong, shall abandon his or her claim to the same ; in which 
case the overseers of the poor of the city, township, or district, respec- 
tively, where such child shall be so abandoned, shall by indenture bind 
out every child so abandoned as an apprentice, for a time not exceeding 
the age herein before limited for the service of such children." Passed 
March i, 17S0. 

PIONEER COLORED SETTLER. 

The pioneer colored settler in this wilderness was Fudge Van Camp. He 
was jet-black, fine-featured, and thin-lipped. Fudge Van Camp was born 
a slave, but purchased his freedom after he grew to manhood. He came 
to Port Barnett from Easton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 
the winter of iSoi, and travelled this distance on foot. The last thirty- 
three miles were travelled without food, in a heavy snow-storm and in a 
two-foot fall of snow. Van Camp was a large and powerful man, but 
gave out and had to work his way for the last mile or two on his hands 
and knees to Port Barnett. He arrived there at midnight exhausted 
and almost frozen. He came over what was then called the Military or 
Milesburg and Le Boeuf State road. Being pleased with the country, 
he returned to Easton only to migrate here with his four children, 
bringing his effects on two horses, and settled on what is now the 
John Clark farm. He brought apple-seeds with him and planted them 
on this farm, this being the first effort to raise fruit in this wilderness. 
Some of the trees are still living. Fudge Van Camp married a white 
woman. She died in Easton. His family consisted of two sons and two 
daughters, — viz., Richard and Enos, Susan and Sarah. Susan mar- 
ried Charles Sutherland, and Sarah married William Douglass. Douglass 
was a hunter. Richard married Ruth Stiles, a white woman, and left 
the county. 

Fudge ^^an Camp was the only colored person living in the county as 
late as 1810. He was a fiddler and a great fighter, and was the orchestra 
for all the early frolics. 

In 1824 I find James Parks is assessed in Pine Creek township (but 
lived then where Christ's brewery is now) with one negro man, " Sam," 
valuation fifty dollars. " Sam" was a miller. In 1826 he is assessed at 
one hundred dollars. Transferred to Rose township in 1829 and as- 
sessed at one hundred dollars. In 1830 Parks's log-mill is assessed at 
fifty dollars and "Sam" at one hundred dollars. Now "Sam" disap- 
pears. According to the census of 1830, the county contained twenty-two 
colored i)eople, — one of these a slave. This slave was James Parks's man 
Sam. Master and slave lived in Brookville. I find one negro slave in 
Brookville in 1833. ^Vllliam Jack is assessed among other property with 
"one boy of color," valuation forty dollars. Jack lived at that time in 

272 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the Darr residence, north of the court-house. This slave boy fled to 
Canada and secured his liberty. In 1836, Jesse Smith, a Presbyterian 
minister living one mile north of where Corsica now is, on the Olean road, 
and then in Rose township, is assessed with one mulatto, valuation fifty 
dollars. It appears from this that slavery existed in Jefferson County 
from 1824 until 1S36, — twelve years. 

Thank God this cruel slavery, which existed once in Jefferson County, 
is forever wiped out in these United States 1 There is now no master's 
call, no driver's lash, no auction-block on which to sell, and no blood- 
hounds to hunt men and women fugitives not from justice, but fugitives 
for justice. Thank God for John Brown, and may " his soul go march- 
ing on 1" 

^'an Camp's real name was Enos Fudge. His owner's name was A'an 
Camp. Fudge was hired by his master to the patriot army of the Revo- 
lution to drive team, and by playing the violin to the soldiers and in 
other ways he accumulated five hundred dollars, which he presented to 
his master, who in consideration of this gave him his freedom. Two 
white men, Stephen Roll and August Shultz, came with ^'an Camp into 
this wilderness. \'an Camp died about the year 1S35, and is buried in 
the old graveyard in Brookville. 

THE " UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

" My ear is pained, 
My soul is sick with every clay's report 
Of wrong and outrage with which this eartli is filled." 

The origin of the system to aid runaway slaves in these United States 
was in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 17S7, Samuel 
Wright laid out that town, and be set apart the northeastern portion for 
colored people, and to many of whom he presented lots. Under these 
circumstances this section was settled rapidly by colored people. Hun- 
dreds of manumitted slaves from Maryland and Mrginia migrated there 
and built homes. This soon created a little city of colored people, and 
in due time formed a good hiding-place for escaped slaves. The term 
" underground railroad" originated there, and in this way : At Columbia 
the runaway slave would be so thoroughly and completely lost to the pur- 
suer, that the slave hunter, in perfect astonishment, would frequently ex- 
claim, " There must be an underground railroad somewhere. ' ' Of course, 
there was no railroad. There was only at this place an organized sys- 
tem by white abolitionists to assist, clothe, feed, and conduct fugitive 
slaves to Canada. This system consisted in changing the clothing, se- 
creting and hiding the fugitive in daytime, and then carrying or direct- 
ing him how to travel in the night-time to the next abolition station, 
where he would be cared for. These stations existed from the Maryland 

273 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

line clear through to Canada. In those days the North was as a whole 
for slavery, and to be an abolitionist was to be reviled and persecuted, 
even by churches of nearly all denominations. Abolition meetings were 
broken up by mobs, the speakers rotten-egged and murdered ; indeed, 
but few preachers would read from their pulpit a notice for an anti- 
slavery meeting. Space will not permit me to depict the degraded state 




Charles Brown handcufted and shackled in Brookville jail, 1834. 

" The shackles never again shall bind this arm, which now is free." 

" My world is dead, 
A new world rjses, and new manners reign." 

of public morals at that time, or the low ebb of true Christianity in that 
day, excepting, of course, that exhibited by a small handful of abolition- 
ists in the land. I can only say, that to clothe, feed, secrete, and to con- 
vey in the darkness of night, poor, wretched, hunted human beings flee- 
ing for liberty, to suffer social ostracism, and to run the risk of the heavy 
penalties prescribed by unholy laws for so doing, required the highest 
type of Christian men and women, — men and women of sagacity, cool- 
ness, firmness, courage, and benevolence ; rocks of adamant, to whom 
the down-trodden could flock for relief and refuge. A great aid to the 
ignorant fugitive was that every slave knew the "north star," and, fur- 
ther, that if he followed it he would eventually reach the land of free- 
dom. This knowledge enabled thousands to reach Canada. All slave- 
holders despised this "star." 

To William Wright, of Columbia, Pennsylvania, is due the credit of 
putting into practice the first "underground railroad" for the freedom 
of slaves. There was no State organization effected until about 183S, 

274 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

when, in Philadelphia, Robert Purvis was made president and Jacob C. 
White secretary. Then the system grew, and before the war of the Re- 
bellion our whole State became interlaced with roads. We had a route, 
too, in this wilderness. It was not as prominent as the routes in the 
more populated portions of the State. I am sorry that I am unable to 
write a complete history of the pure, lofty, generous men and women in 
our county who worked this road. They were Quakers and Methodists, 
and the only ones that I can now recall were Elijah Heath and wife, 
Arad Pearsall and wife, James Steadman and wife, and the Rev. Chris- 
topher Fogle and his first and second wife, of Brookville (Rev. Fogle 
was an agent and conductor in Troy), Isaac P. Carmalt and his wife, of 
near Clayville, James A. Minish, of Punxsutawney, and William Coon 
and his wife, in Clarington, now Forest County. Others, no doubt, were 
connected, but the history is lost. Our route started from Baltimore, 
Maryland, and extended, via Bellefonte, Grampian Hills, Punxsutawney, 
Brookville, Clarington, and Warren, to Lake Erie and Canada. A branch 
road came from Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Clayville. At Indiana, Penn- 
sylvania, Dr. Mitchell, James Moorhead, James Hamilton, William 
Banks, and a itw others were agents in the cause. 

In an estimate based on forty years, there escaped annually from the 
slave States fifteen hundred slaves ; but still the slave population doubled 
in these States every twenty years. Fugitives travelled north usually in 
twos, but in two or three instances they went over this wilderness route 
in a small army, as an early paper of Brookville says, editorially, 
"Twenty-five fugitive slaves passed through Brookville Monday morn- 
ing on their way to Canada." Again: "On Monday morning, Oc- 
tober 14, 1S50, forty armed fugitive slaves passed through Brookville to 
Canada." 

Smedley's "Underground Railroad" says, "Heroes have had their 
deeds of bravery upon battle-fields emblazoned in history, and their 
countrymen have delighted to do them honor ; statesmen have been re- 
nowned, and their names have been engraved upon the enduring tablets 
of fame ; philanthropists have had their acts of benevolence and charity 
proclaimed to an appreciating world ; ministers, pure and sincere in 
their gospel labors, have had their teachings collected in religious books 
that generations might profit by the reading ; but these moral heroes, 
out of the fulness of their hearts, with neither expectations of reward nor 
hope of remembrance, have, within the privacy of their own homes, at 
an hour when the outside world was locked in slumber, clothed, fed, 
and in the darkness of night, whether in calm or in storms, assisted poor 
degraded, hunted human beings on their way to liberty. 

" When, too, newspapers refused to publish antislavery speeches, but 
poured forth such denunciations as, ' The people will hereafter consider 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

abolitionists as out of the pale of legal and conventional protection 
which society affords its honest and well-meaning members,' that 
' they will be treated as robbers and pirates, and as the enemies of man- 
kind ;' when Northern merchants extensively engaged in Southern trade 
told abolitionists that, as their pecuniary interests were largely connected 
with those of the South, they could not afford to allow them to succeed 
in their efforts to overthrow slavery, that millions upon millions of dol- 
lars were due them from Southern merchants, the payment of which 
would be jeopardized, and that they would put them down by fair means 
if they could, by foul means if they must, we must concede that it re- 
quired the manhood of a man and the unflinching fortitude of a woman, 
upheld by a full and firm Christian faith, to be an abolitionist in those 
days, and especially an ' underground railroad' agent." 

SLAVE TRAFFIC AND TRADE. 

"And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he 
shall surely be put to death." — Exod. xxi. i6. 

In the United States Constitutional Convention of 17S7 the Carolinas, 
Georgia, and New York wanted the slave-trade continued and more slave 
property. To the credit of all the other colonies, they wanted the foreign 
slave traffic stopped. After much wrangling and discussion a compromise 
was effected by which no enactment was to restrain the slave-trade before 
the year 180S. By this compromise the slave-trade was ^ continue 
twenty-one years. On March 2, 1807, Congress j^assed an act to pro- 
hibit the importation of any more slaves after the close of that year. 
But the profits from slave trading were enormous, and the foreign traffic 
continued in spite of all law. It was found that if one ship out of every 
three was captured, the profits still would be large. Out of every ten 
negroes stolen in Africa, seven died before they reached this inarket. A 
negro cost in Africa twenty dollars in gunpowder, old clothes, etc., and 
readily brought five hundred dollars in the United States. Everything 
connected with the trade was brutal. The daily ration of a captive on a 
vessel was a pint of water and a half-pint of rice. Sick negroes were 
simply thrown overboard. This traffic "for revolting, heartless atrocity 
would make the devil wonder." The profits were so large that no slave- 
trader was ever convicted in this country until 1861, when Nathaniel 
Gordon, of the slaver " Erie," was convicted in New York City and exe- 
cuted. It was estimated that from thirty to sixty thousand slaves were 
carried to the Southern States every year by New York vessels alone. A 
wicked practice was carried on between the slave and free States in this 
way. A complete description of a free colored man or woman would be 
sent from a free State to parties living in a slave State. This description 
would then be published in hand-bills, etc., as that of a runaway slave. 

276 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

These bills would be widely circulated. In a short time the person so 
described would be arrested, kidnapped in the night, overpowered, man- 
acled, carried away, and sold. He had no legal right, no friends, and 
was only a "■ nigger." Free colored men on the borders of Pennsylvania 
have left home to visit a neighbor and been kidnapped in broad day- 
light, and never heard of after. A negro man or woman would sell for 
from one to two thousand dollars, and this was more profitable than horse- 
stealing or highway robbery, and attended with but little danger. A re- 
port in this or any other neighborhood that kidnappers were around 
struck terror to the heart of every free colored man or Avoman. Negroes 
in Brookville have left their shanty homes to sleep in the stables of 
friends when such rumors were afloat. 

Before giving any official records in this history, I must pause to 
present the fact that one Butler B. Amos, an all-around thief, then in 
this county, was, in 1834, in our jail, sentenced to "hard labor" under 
the law. 

Early convicts were sentenced to hard labor in the county jail, and 
had to make split-brooms from hickory-wood, as will be seen from this 
agreement between the commissioners and jailer : 

"Received, Brookville, Sept. 29th, 1S34, of the commissioners of 
Jefferson county, thirty-seven broomsticks, which I am to have made 
into brooms by Butler B. Amos, lately convicted in the Court of Quarter 
Sessions of said county for larceny and sentenced to hard labour in the 
gaol of said county for six months, and I am also to dispose of said 
brooms when made as the said commissioners may direct, and account 
to them for the proceeds thereof as the law directs. Received also one 
shaving horse, one hand saw, one drawing knife and one jack knife to 
enable him to work the above brooms, which I am to return to the said 
commissioners at the expiration of said term of servitude of the said 
Butler B. Amos, with reasonable wear and tear. 

" Arad Pearsall, Gaoler.'" 

Amos had been arrested for theft, as per the following advertisement 
in \.\\Q feffersonian of the annexed date: 

"Commonwealth vs. Butler B. Amos. Defendant committed to 
September term, 1834. Charge of Larceny. And whereas the act of 
General Assembly requires that notice be given, I therefore hereby give 
notice that the following is an inventory of articles found in the posses- 
sion of the said Butler B. Amos and supposed to have been stolen, viz. : 
I canal shovel, i grubbing hoe, 2 hand saws, 2 bake kettles, i curry 
comb, 2 wolf traps, i iron bound bucket, i frow, 3 log chains, i piece 
of log chain, 2 drawing chains, i piece of drawing chain, i set of breast 
chains, i hand ax, &c. The above mentioned articles are now in pos- 

277 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

session of the subscriber, where those interested can see and examine for 

themselves. 

"Alx. M'Knight, /. P. 
" Brookville, August 25th, 1834." 

A few years after this sentence was comphed with Amos left Brook- 
ville on a flat-boat for Kentucky, where he was dirked in a row and 
killed. Although Amos was a thief, he had a warm " heart" in him, as 
will be seen farther on. 

The earliest official record I can find of our underground road is in 
\.\vQ fefersonian of September 15, 1834, which contained these advertise- 
ments, — viz. : 

"$150 REWARD. 

"ESCAPED from the jail of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, last 
night — a black man, called Cliarles Broion, a slave to the infant heirs of 
Richard Baylor, deceased, late of Jefferson county Virginia ; he is about 
5 feet 7 inches high, and 24 years of age, of a dark complexion — pleasant 
look, with his upper teeth a little open before. I was removing him to 
the State of Virginia, by virtue of a certificate from Judges' Sliippen, 
Irvin c^ M' Kee, of the Court of Common Pleas of the county of Venango, 
as my warrant, to return him to the place from which he fled. I Avill 
give a reward of $150 to any person who will deliver him to the Jailor of 
Jefferson county Virginia, and if that sum should appear to be inadequate 
to the expense and trouble, it shall be suitably increased. 

" JoHX Yates, 

" Guardian of the said heirs. 
"Sept. 15, 1S34." 

"$150 REWARD!! 

"ESCAPED from the Jail of Jefterson county; Pennsylvania last 
night, a black man, nam'd WILLIAM PARKER alias ROBINSON a 
slave, belonging to the undersigned : aged about 26 years, and about 5 
feet 6 inches high ; broad shoulders ; full round face, rather a grave 
countenance, and thick lips, particularly his upper lip, stammers a little, 
and rather slow in speech. — I was removing him to the State of Virginia, 
by virtue of a cirtificate, from Judges Shippen and Irvin, of the Court of 
Common Pleas, of Venango county ; as my warrant to return him to the 
place, from which he fled. I will give a reward of $150, to any person, 
who will deliver him to the Jailor of Jefferson county Virginia ; and if 
that sum should appear to be inadequate to the expense and trouble, it 

shall be suitably increased. 

" Stephen DelCxArn. 
"September 15, 1S34." 

Arad Pearsall was then our jailer, and he was a Methodist and an 
abolitionist. 

278 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COLTsTV, PENNA. 

Our pioneer jail, as I remember it, was constructed from stone spawls, 
with wooden doors and big iron locks. For safety, the prisoners were 
usually shackled and handcuffed, and they were fed on " bread and water. ' ' 
When recaptured, escaped slaves were lodged in county jails and shackled 
for safety. These slaves had been so lodged, while their captors slept on 
beds "as soft as downy pillows are." Charles Brown and William Parker 
reached Canada. Heath and Steadman furnished augers and files to the 
thief Amos, who filed the shackles loose from these human beings, and 
with the augers he bored the locks off the doors. Pearsall, Heath, and 
Steadman did the rest. Some person or persons in Brookville were 
mean enough to inform, by letter or otherwise, Delgarn and Yates that 
Judge Heath, Arad Pearsall, and James Steadman had liberated and run 
off their slaves, whereupon legal steps were taken by these men to recover 
damages for the loss of property in the United States Court at Pittsburg, 
the minutes of which I here reproduce : 

" Clerk's Office, United States Circuit Court, 

" Western District of Pennsylvania, 

" Pittsburg, October 9, 1S97. 
"W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — Judge Bufifington has referred your letter to me, and I 
enclose a pencil memoranda of the proceedings in the two suits against 
Heath and others. 

" This is about as full as we can give it, except the testimony in so far 
as it appears in depositions filed. Most of the evidence was oral, the 
names of the witnesses appearing in subpoenas on file. 

"' Yours truly, 

" H. D. Gamble, 
" C/erl' United States Circuit Courts 

"At No. 4 of October Term, 1S35, in the District Court of the United 
States for the Western District of Pennsylvania, suit in trespass, brought 
July 10, 1S35, by Thomas G. Baylor and Anna Maria Baylor, minors, by 
John Yates, Esq., their guardian, all citizens of Virginia, against Elijah 
Heath, James M. Steadman, and Arad Pearsall. 

" At No. 5, October Term, 1835, suit in trespass by Stephen Delgarn, 
a citizen of Virginia, against same defendants as in No. 4, brought at 
same time. Burke and Metcalf, Esqs., were attorneys for the plaintiffs 
in each case, and Alexander M. Foster for the defendants. 

•' Suit, as No. 4, was tried on May 3, 4, and 5, 1836, and on May 6, 
1836, verdict rendered for plaintiff for six hundred dollars. 

" Suit No. 5 was tried May 6 and 7, 1836, and verdict rendered May 
7, 1836, for eight hundred and forty dollars. November 24, 1836, 
judgments and costs collected upon execution and paid to plaintiffs' 
attorneys. 

279 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" In suit No. 4 the allegations as set forth in the declarations filed 
are : That plaintiffs, citizens of Virginia, were the owners of ' a certain 
negro man' named Charles Brown, otherwise ' Charles,' of great value, — 
to wit, of the value of one thousand dollars, — to which said negro they 
were lawfully entitled as a servant or slave, and to his labor and service 
as such, according to the laws of the State of Virginia. That on or about 
the ist day of August, 1834, the said negro man absconded, and went 
away from and out of the custody of said plaintiffs, and afterwards went 
and came into the Western District of Pennsylvania ; and the said plain- 
tiffs, by their guardian, did, on or about the 13th day of September, 1834, 
pursue the said servant or slave into the said Western District of Penn- 
sylvania, and finding the said servant or slave in said district, and there 
and then claimed him as a fugitive from labor, and caused him to be ar- 
rested and brought before the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of 
Venango County, in said Western District of Pennsylvania ; and it ap- 
pearing upon sufficient evidence before them produced in due and legal 
form, that the said negro man did, under the laws of Virginia, owe ser- 
vice and labor unto said plaintiffs, and that the said negro man had fled 
from the service of his said master in Virginia into A'enango County, 
Pennsylvania, aforesaid ; and the said plaintiffs, by their guardian, did, 
on the said i8th day of September, 1834, obtain from the said judges of 
the Court of Common Pleas of Venango County aforesaid a warrant for 
the removal of the said negro man to Virginia aforesaid ; and the said 
guardian was returning and taking with him, under and by virtue of the 
said warrant, said servant or slave to the said plaintiffs' residence in Vir- 
ginia; and while so returning — to wit, on or about the day and year 
last aforesaid — the said guardian at Jefferson County, in the Western Dis- 
trict of Pennsylvania aforesaid, did, with the assent and by the permis- 
sion of the person or persons having charge of the public jail or prison in 
and for said County of Jefferson, place the said servant or slave in said 
jail or prison for safe-keeping, until he, the said guardian, could reasonably 
proceed on his journey with the said aforesaid servant or slave to Virginia 
aforesaid. Yet the said defendants, well knowing the said negro man to 
be the servant or slave of the plaintiffs and to be their lawful property, 
and that they, the said plaintiffs, by their guardian aforesaid, were enti- 
tled to have the possession and custody of him, and to have and enjoy 
the profit and advantage of his labor and services ; but contriving and 
unlawfully intending to injure the said plaintiffs, and to deprive them of 
all benefits, profits, and advantages of and which would accrue to these 
said plaintiffs from said services, then and there, on or about the day 
and year aforesaid at Jefferson County aforesaid, did secretly and in the 
night-time unlawfully, wrongfully, and unjustly release, take, and assist 
in releasing and taking, or procure to be released or taken, the said negro 
man, then being as aforesaid the servant or slave of the said plaintiffs, 

280 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

from and out of the said prison or jail, where said servant or slave was 
placed for safe-keeping by said guardian as aforesaid ; whereby said ser- 
vant or slave escaped, ran off, and was and is wholly lost to said plaintiffs, 
and said plaintiffs deprived of all the profits, benefits, and advantages 
which might and otherwise would have arisen and accrued to said plain- 
tiffs from the said services of said servant or slave. 

" The allegations and declarations in No. 5 were materially the same 
as in No. 4." 

Isaac P. Carmalt was co-operating with Heath and others at this 
time. Heath was a Methodist, and so was Pearsall. Heath moved away 
about 1846, and Pearsall died in Brookville about 1857. 

Isaac P. Carmalt was a Quaker, a relative of William Penn, and was 
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1794. He learned the carpenter 
trade. In 181 8 he left his native city with two horses and a dearborn 
wagon, and in three weeks he crossed the Allegheny Mountains and 
located in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. In 182 1 he moved to Punx- 
sutawney. In 1822 he bought a farm near Clayville. In 1823 he mar- 
ried Miss Hannah A. Gaskill, a Quakeress, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
But little can be given of his great work in this direction owing to his 
death. His daughter, Mrs. Lowry, writes me as follows : 

"The last slave that came to our house was after the insurrection at 
Harper's Ferry. He claimed to have been in the insurrection. He 
came Avith a colored man who lived near Grampian Hills, whose name 
was George Hartshorn. This one was a mulatto, and claimed to be the 
son of Judge Crittenden, who, I think, held some important office at 
\Vashington, — Senator or Congressman. The slave was very nervous 
when he came, and asked for a raw onion, which, he said, was good to 
quiet the nerves. He was also quite suspicious of Joe Walkup, who was 
working at our house at the time. He called him out and gave him his 
revolver, and told him he would rather he would blow his brains out 
than to inform on him, for if he was taken he would certainly be hung. 
He left during the night for Brookville. Most of the fugitives came 
through Centre and Clearfield Counties. One of the underground rail- 
road stations was in Centre County, near Bellefonte, kept by a friend by 
the name of Iddings, who sent them to the next station, which was Gram- 
pian Hills, from thence to our house, and from here to Brookville. I re- 
member well one Sabbath when I was coming home from church ; Lib 
Wilson was coming part way with me. We noticed a colored man ahead 
of us. I paid but little attention, but she said, ' I know that is a slave.' 
I knew Wilson's pro slavery sentiments, and replied very carelessly that 
' there was a colored family living near Grampian Hills. I supposed he 
was going to our house, as we had been there a short time before, want- 
ing to trade horses for oxen to haul timber with.' But as soon as she left 
me I quickened my pace and tried to overtake him. I was afraid he 
19 2S1 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

might go through Clayville, where I knew there was a perfect nest of pro- 
slavery men, who had made their threats of what they would do if father 
assisted any more slaves to gain their freedom. Among them were the 
Gillespies, who boasted of being overseers or slave-drivers while they 
were in the South. He kept ahead of me and stopped at James IMinish's, 
and I thought it was all over with him, as they and the Gillespies were 
connected, and most likely were of the same sentiment in regard to 
slavery. But imagine my surprise when I came up, Mr. Minish handed 
me a slip of paper with the name of ' Carmalt' on it, and remarked that 
I was one of the Carmalt girls. (I suppose it was the name of a station.) 
But he hurried the fugitive on, and I directed him to go up over the hill 
through the woods. I then hurried home for father to go and meet him. 
But when I got home, father was not there, so I put on my sun-bonnet 
and went but a short distance, when I met him. There were several per- 
sons in the house, so I slipped him in the back way. He seemed to be 
in great misery and could not eat anything, but asked for something to 
bathe his foot in. Then he gave a short account of his escape from 
slavery three years previous. After escaping he stopped with a man 
near Harrisburg, at what he called Yellow Breeches Creek, and worked 
for him, during which time he married and had a little home of his own. 
One day when ploughing in the field he discovered his old master from 
whom he had escaped and two other men coming towards him. He 
dropped everything and ran to his benefactor's house, and told him whom 
he had seen. His benefactor then pulled off his coat and boots and di- 
rected him to put them on, as he was in his bare feet, having left his own 
coat and boots in the field. Being closely pursued, he ran to the barn, and 
the men followed him. He was then compelled to jump from a high 
window, and, striking a sharp stone, he received a severe cut in one heel, 
not having had time to put on the boots given him by his benefactor. 
When he came to our house he was suffering terribly, not having had an 
opportunity to get the wound dressed. His benefactor had charged him 
not to tarry on the road. But father, seeing the seriousness of his 
wound, persuaded him to go to bed until midnight. But the poor fellow 
could not sleep, but moaned with pain. We gave him his breakfast, and 
then father had him get on a horse, while he walked, and it was just 
breaking day when they arrived at Brookville. A gentleman by the name 
of Christopher Fogle was waiting to receive them. We heard afterwards 
that the poor slave succeeded in reaching Canada, but returned for his 
wife, and was captured and taken back to slavery. 

" There is just one more incident that I will mention, which occurred 
at an earlier date. One morning I went to the door and saw four large 
colored men hurrying to the barn. I told father, and he went out and 
brought them in. Our breakfast was just ready. We had them sit down 
and eat as fast as they could, taking the precaution to lock the door, for 

282 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

several persons came along while they were eating. Father noticed that 
one of the slaves looked dull and stupid, and inquired if he was sick. 
One of the others replied that he was only a little donsey. When they 
were through eating, father hurried them to the woods and hid them 
somewhere near the old school- house then on the farm. When father 
went to take their dinner to them, the one said he was still a little donsey, 
and then showed father his back. His shirt was sticking to his back. 
He had been terribly whipped, and they had rubbed salt in the gashes. 
They then gave a short history of their escape. They said they had a 
good master and mistress, but their master had died and the estate was 
sold. The master's two sons then sold them, and they were to be taken to 
the rice-swamps to toil their lives away. They were determined to make 
their escape, but the one who had been so terribly whipped was captured 
and taken back. Their old mistress planned and assisted him to make 
his escape by dressing him as a coachman, and with her assistance found 
his way to Washington, where he met his companions and friends. 
From Washington they were guided by the north star, travelling only 
by night. 

" I think but few fugitives came by the way of Indiana, though I re- 
member of hearing father tell of one or two that he brought with him 
when he first came from Indiana who had escaped by way of Philadel- 
phia. I think most came through Baltimore, where a Quaker friend by 
the name of Needles assisted the runaways through this branch of the 
underground railroad. From Baltimore they came through the Quaker 
settlements in Centre and Clearfield Counties. Father was the only one 
who conveyed them from our house near Clayville to Brookville. This 
he generally did by going himself or by sending some reliable person 
with them. Father concealed a man from Baltimore, a German, who 
used to smuggle slaves through. He had a furniture wagon, in which he 
concealed them, but v.-as discovered and put in jail at York, Pennsylva- 
nia, but he escaped to Iddings, near Bellefonte, thence to Grampian 
Hills, and from there to father's, where he worked five years. He then 
left, and moved to Ohio. He became afraid to stay, for there were a 
few who had an inkling of his history and knew there was a reward of 
three thousand dollars for his arrest. One day in going to his work he 
met the sheriff from Baltimore, who knew him well, and told him to 
keep out of his sight, that there was a big reward offered for him. When 
he was first arrested he had a colored girl concealed in a bureau which 
he was hauling on his wagon." 

Christopher Fogle was born in Baden, Germany, in iSoo. His father 
came with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1817, and Christo- 
pher learned the tanning trade in Germantown. On June 26, 1S26, he was 
married in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. About this time he joined 
the Methodist Church. In 1835 he migrated to Heathville, Jefferson 

2S.-. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

County, Pennsylvania, and built a tannery. In 1843 ^^ moved to Troy 
and had a tannery. This he afterwards sold out to Hulett Smith, when 
he moved to Brookville and purchased from Elijah Heath and A. Colwell 
what was called the David Henry tannery. Rev. Fogle was in the un- 
derground railroad business in Heathville, and Mrs. Jane Fogle, his 
second wife, who still survives him, informs me that he continued in that 
business until the war for the Union, and she assisted him. The points 
in and around Brookville where the Rev. Fogle lived and secreted fugi- 
tives were, first, the old tannery ; second, the K. L. Blood farm ; third, 
the little yellow house where Benscotter's residence now is ; and, fourth, 
the old house formerly owned by John J. Thompson, opposite the United 
Presbyterian Church. Officers frequently were close after these fugitives, 
and sometimes were in Brookville, while the agents had the colored 
people hid in the woods. The next station on this road to Canada was 
at the house of AVilliam Coon, in Clarington, Pennsylvania. Coon would 
ferry the slaves over the Clarion, feed, refresh, and start them through 
the wilderness for Warren, Pennsylvania, and when Canada was finally 
reached, the poor fugitive could sing with a broken heart at times, thinking 
of his wife, children, and parents yet in bonds, — 

" No more master's call for me, 

No more, no more. 
No more driver's lash for me, 

No more, no more. 
No more auction-block for me, 

No more, no more. 
No more bloodhounds hunt for me, 

No more, no more. 
I'm free, I'm free at last; at last, 

Thank God, I'm free I" 

INDENTURED APPRENTICES, WHITE SLAYERY, AND REDEMP- 

TIONERS. 

Colored people were not the only class held in servitude by Pennsyl- 
vanians. Another form of slavery was carried on by speculators called 
Newlanders. These traders in " white people" were protected by custom 
and legal statutes. They ran vessels regularly to European seaports, and 
induced people to emigrate to Pennsylvania. By delay and expensive 
formalities these emigrants were systematically robbed during the trip of 
any money they might have, and upon their arrival at Philadelphia would 
be in a strange country, without money or friends to pay their passage or 
to lift their goods from the villanous captains and owners of these ves- 
sels which brought them to the wharves of Philadelphia. Imagine the 
destitute condition of these emigrants. Under the law of imprisonment 
for debt the captain or merchant either sold these people or imprisoned 
them. 

284 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The Newlanders were the first German emigrants to Pennsylvania. 
Actuated by sinister motives, the Newlander would return to Germany, 
and rely on his personal appearance and flattering tongue to mislead and 
induce all classes, from the minister down to the lowest strata of human- 
ity, to migrate to the New ^^'orld. The Newlanders would receive from 
the owner or captain of a vessel a stipulated sum per passenger. By arts 
and representations the Newlander ingratiated himself into the confidence 
of the emigrant, securing possession of his property, and before taking 
passage the emigrant had to subscribe to a written contract in English, 
which enabled the Newlander the more fully to pluck his victim, for 
when the vessel arrived at Philadelphia the list of passengers and their 
agreements were placed in the hands of merchants. The Newlander 
managed it so that the emigrant would be in his debt, and then the poor 
foreigners had to be sold for debt. The merchants advertised the cargo ; 
the place of sale on the ship. The purchasers had to enter the ship, 
make the contract, take their purchase to the merchant and pay the price, 
and then legally bind the transaction before a magistrate. Unmarried 
people and young people, of course, were more readily sold, and brought 
better prices. Aged and decrepit persons were poor sale ; but if they had 
healthy children, these children were sold at good prices for the combined 
debt, and to different masters and in different States, perhaps never to see 
each other in this world. The parents then were turned loose to beg. 
The time of sale was from two to seven years for about fifty dollars of our 
money. The poor people on board the ship were prisoners, and could 
neither go ashore themselves or send their baggage until they paid what 
they did not owe. These captains made more money out of the deaths of 
their passengers than they did from the living, as this gave them a chance 
to rob chests and sell children. This was a cruel, murdering trade. Every 
cruel device was resorted to in order to gain gold through the misfortune 
of these poor people. One John Stedman, in 1753, bought a license in 
Holland that no captain or merchant could load any passengers unless he 
had two thousand. He treated these deluded people so cruelly on ship- 
board that two thousand in less than one year were thrown overboard. 
This was monopoly. 

As will be seen in this chapter, under the head of advertisements, 
many of the leading merchants in Philadelphia were engaged in this 
nefarious business. In answer to the daily advertisements of *' Redemp- 
tioners for Sale," citizens from all parts of Pennsylvania and adjoining 
States visited Philadelphia and bought these poor white people, the same 
as sheep and oxen. Many of the best families and people in this State 
are descendants of these " white slaves. " We have some such descendants 
in Jefferson County. I could name them. 

Under this debasing system of indentured apprentices, the legal exist- 
ence of African slavery, and the legalized sale of white emigrants in our 

2S5 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

State, is it any wonder that among the people intemperance, illiteracy, 
lottery schemes for churches, gambling, and profanity was the rule, or 
that to the poor, the weak, and the wretched the prisons were the only 
homes or hospitals for them, and that the " driver's lash" fell alike on the 
back of the old and young, black or white, minister, school-master, or 
layman ? 

" I pity the mother, careworn and weary, 
As she thinks of her children about to be sold ; 
You may picture the bounds of the rock-girdled ocean, 
But the grief of that mother can never be told." 

ACT OF 1700. 

"An Act for the Better Regulation of Serv^ants in this Province 

AND Territories. 

" For the just encouragement of servants in the discharge of their 
duty, and the prevention of their deserting their masters' or owners' ser- 
vice, Be it enacted, That no servant, bound to serve his or her time in 
this province, or counties annexed, shall be sold or disposed of to any 
person residing in any other province or government, without the con- 
sent of the said servant, and two Justices of the Peace of the county 
wherein he lives or is sold, under the penalty of ten pounds ; to be for- 
feited by the seller. 

''II. And be it further enacted, That no servant shall be assigned 
over to another person by any in this province or territories, but in the 
presence of one Justice of the Peace of the county, under the penalty of 
ten pounds ; which penalty, with all others in this act expressed, shall be 
levied by distress and sale of goods of the party offending. 

" III. And be it enacted. That every servant that shall faithfully serve 
four years, or more, shall, at the expiration of their servitude, have a dis- 
charge, and shall be duly clothed with two complete suits of apparel, 
whereof one shall be new, and shall also be furnished with one new axe, 
one grubbing-hoe, and one weeding-hoe, at the charge of their master or 
mistress. 

"IV. And for prevention of servants quitting their masters' service, 
Be it enacted, That if any servant shall absent him or herself from the 
service of Iheir master or owner for the space of one day or more, with- 
out leave first obtained for the same, every such servant shall, for every 
such day's absence, be obliged to serve five days, after the expiration of 
his or her time, and shall further make such satisfaction to his or her 
master or owner, for the damages and charges sustained by such absence, 
as the respective County Court shall see meet, who shall order as well the 
time to be served, as other recompense for damages sustained. 

" v. And whosoever shall apprehend or take up any runaway servant, 
and shall bring him or her to the Sheriff of the county, such person shall, 

2S6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

for every such servant, if taken up within ten miles of the servant's abode, 
receive ten shillings, and if ten miles or upwards, twenty shillings reward, 
of the said Sheriff, who is hereby required to pay the same, and forthwith 
to send notice to the master or owner, of whom he shall receive five shil- 
lings, prison fees, upon delivery of the said servant, together with all 
other disbursements and reasonable charges for and upon the same. 

"VI. And to prevent the clandestine employing of other men's ser- 
vants, Be it enacted, That whosoever shall conceal any servant of this prov- 
ince or territories, or entertain him or her twenty-four hours, without his 
or her master's or owner's knowledge and consent, and shall not within 
the said time give an account thereof to some Justice of the Peace of the 
county, every such person shall forfeit twenty shillings for every day's 
concealment. And in case the said Justice shall not, within twenty- four 
hours after complaint made to him, issue his warrant, directed to the 
next constable, for apprehending and seizing the said servant, and com- 
mit him or her to the custody of the Sheriff of the county, such Justice 
shall, for every such offence, forfeit five pounds. And the Sheriff shall 
by the first opportunity, after he has received the said servant, send 
notice thereof to his or her master or owner ; and the said Sheriff, 
neglecting or omitting in any case to give notice to the master or owner 
of their servant being in his custody as aforesaid, shall forfeit five shil- 
lings for every day's neglect after an opportunity has offered, to be 
proved against him before the next County Court, and to be there 
adjudged. 

" VII. And for the more effectual discouragement of servants imbez- 
zling their masters' or owners' goods, Be it enacted. That whosoever 
shall clandestinely deal or traffic with any servant, white or black, for any 
kind of goods or merchandise, without leave or order from his or her 
master or owner, plainly signified or appearing, shall forfeit treble the 
value of such goods to the owner; and the servant if a white, shall make 
satisfaction to his or her master or owner by servitude, after the expira- 
tion of his or her time, to double the value of the said goods ; And if the 
servant be a black, he or she shall be severely whipped, in the mosr public 
place of the township where the offence was committed." 

ACT OF 1705. 

" Section 2. Provided, That no person shall be kept in prison for 
debt or fines, longer than the second day of the next session after his or 
her commitment, unless the plaintiff shall make it appear that the person 
imprisoned hath some estate that he will not produce, in which case the 
court shall examine all persons suspected to be privy to the concealing 
of such estate ; and if no estate sufficient shall be found, the debtor shall 
make satisfaction by servitude to the judgment of the court where such 

287 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

action is tried (not exceeding seven years if a single person, and under 
the age of fifty and three years, or five years if a married man, and under 
the age of forty and six years) if the plaintiff require it ; but if the plain- 
tiff refuse such manner of satisfaction, according to the judgment of the 
court as aforesaid, then and in such case the prisoner shall be discharged 
in open court. 

"Section 3. Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be 
construed to subject any master of ship or other vessel, trading into this 
province from other parts, to make satisfaction for debt by servitude as 
above said." 

Up to 1842 this law of Pennsylvania authorized the imprisonment of 
men for debt. The act of July 12 of that year abolished such imprison- 
ment. Quite a number of men were committed to the old jail in Brook- 
ville because of their inability to pay their debts. Sometimes their 
friends paid the debt for them, and sometimes they came out under the 
insolvent debtor's law. Below I give an exact copy of an execution 
issued by 'Squire Corbett, a justice of the peace in Brookville : 

''Jefferson County, ss. 

"The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to James Cochran, constable 
of borough, greeting : JJViereas judgment against Stephen Tibbits for the 
sum of 5 dollars and 27 cents and the costs was had the 6th day of Jany, 
'39, before me, at the suit of Heath, Dunham (N: Co. : These are there- 
fore in the name of the commonwealth, to command you to levy distress 
on the goods and chattels of the said Stephen Tibbits, and make sale 
thereof according to law to the amount of said debt and costs, and what 
may accrue thereon, and make return to me in twenty days from the date 
thereof; and for want of goods and chattels whereon to levy, you are 
commanded to convey the body of said Stephen Tibbits to the jail of the 
said county, the jailer whereof is hereby commanded to receive the same, 
in safe custody to keep until the said debt and costs are paid, or other- 
wise discharged by due course of law. Given under my hand and seal 

the 15 day of May, 1841. 

"James Corhett. 

This execution was numbered 8ri. The debt was $5.27 ; interest, 60 
cents ; justice's costs, 25 cents ; execution and return, 20^^ cents ; total, 
$6,321 "2- The whole sum was paid May 26, 1S41. 

By the act passed April 8, 1785, entitled " An Act for establishing the 
office of a register of all (German passengers who shall arrive at the port 
of Philadelphia, and of all indentures by which any of them shall be 
bound servants for their freight, and of the assigments of such servants 
in the city of Philadelphia," it was provided that the register should un- 
derstand and speak both German and English languages, and that he 
could have "all the powers and authorities of a justice of the peace, as 

288 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

far as the same shall be required for the support and efficiency of his 
office, and the laws respecting the importation of German passengers and 
binding them out servants." All indentures and assignments to be made 
and acknowledged before the register or his deputy, and he to register 
all indentures or assignments, as servants' indentures or assignments. 

Under the act for regulating the importation of (lerman and other 
passengers, passed February 7, 181 8, the captain was compelled to give 
a bill of lading of merchandise to passengers, under a penalty of one 
hundred dollars. Passengers to be discharged on payment of freight. 
When passengers were sold for servitude, the indenture to be acknowl- 
edged before the mayor of the city of Philadelphia; "but no master, 
captain, owner, or consignee of any ship or vessel shall separate any 
husband and wife, who came passengers in any such ship or vessel, by 
disposing of them to different masters or mistresses, unless by mutual 
consent of such husband and wife ; nor shall any passenger, without his 
or her consent, be disposed of to any person residing out of this Com- 
monwealth, under the penalty of one hundred dollars." The goods of 
each passenger to be a pledge for freight. 

AN ACT FOR THE RELIEF OF REDEIMPTIONERS. 

" Section i. Be it enacted b\ the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commomvealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That the several provisions of 
an act of Assembly of this Commonwealth, passed the twenty-ninth day 
of September, one thousand seven hundred and seventy, entitled ' An Act 
for the regulation of apprentices within this province,' and of an act 
passed the eleventh day of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety- 
nine, entitled a supplement to the act, entitled ' An Act for the regula- 
tion of apprentices,' be and the same are hereby extended to all Redemp- 
tioners bound to service for a term of years." Passed 9th February, 1820. 

ACT OF SEPTEMBER 29, 1770. 

"Section i. All and every person or persons that shall be bound by 
indenture, to serve an apprentice in any art, mystery, labour, or occupa- 
tion, with the assent of his or her parent, guardian or next friend, or 
with the assent of the overseers of the poor, and approbation of any two 
Justices, although such persons, or any of them, shall be within the age 
of twenty-one years at the time of making their several indentures, shall 
be bound to serve the time in their respective indentures contained, so 
as such time or term of years of such apprentice, if female, do expire at 
or before the age of eighteen years, and if a male, at or before the age 
of twenty-one years, as fully to all intents and purposes as if the same 
apprentices were of full age at the time of making the said indentures. 

" Section 2. If any master or mistress shall misuse, abuse, or evilly 

289 



PIONEER HIST(JRY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

treat, or shall not discharge his or her duty towards his or her apprentice, 
according to the covenants in the indentures between them made, or if 
the said apprentice shall abscond or absent him or herself from his or her 
master's or mistress's service without leave, or shall not do and discharge 
his or her duty to his or her master or mistress, according to his or her 
covenants aforesaid, the said master or mistress, or apprentice, being 
aggrieved in the premises, shall or may apply to any one Justice of the 
Peace, of any county or city, where the said master or mistress shall re- 
side, who, after giving due notice to such master or mistress, or appren- 
tice, if he or she shall neglect or refuse to appear, shall thereupon issue 
his warrant for bringing him or her, the said master, mistress, or appren- 
tice, before him, and take such order and direction, between the said 
master or mistress and apprentice, as the equity and justice of the case 
shall require : And if the said Justice shall not be able to settle and ac- 
commodate the difference and dispute between the said master or mistress 
and apprentice, through a want of conformity in the master or mistress, 
then the said Justice shall take a recognizance of the said master or mis- 
tress, and bind him or her over, to appear and answer the complaint of 
his or her apprentice, at the next county court of (Quarter Sessions, to be 
held for the said county or city, and take such order with respect to such 
apprentice as to him shall seem just ; and if through want of conformity 
in the said apprentice he shall, if the master or mistress or apprentice re- 
quest it, take recognizance of him or her with one sufficient surety, for his 
or her appearance at the said sessions, and to answer the complaint of his or 
her master or mistress, or commit such apprentice for want of such surety, 
to the common gaol or work- house of the said county or city respectively ; 
and upon such appearance of the parties and hearing of their respective 
proofs and allegations, the said court shall, and they are hereby author- 
ized and empowered, if they see cause, to discharge the said apprentice 
of and from his or her apprenticeship, and of and from all and every the 
articles, covenants, and agreements in his or her said indenture con- 
tained ; but if default shall be found in the said apprentice, then the said 
court is hereby authorized and empowered to cause, if they see sufficient 
occasion, such punishment by imprisonment of the body, and confine- 
ment at hard labour, to be inflicted on him or her, as to them, in their 
discretion, they shall think his or her offence or offences shall deserve." 

ACT OF APRIL ii, 1799. 

"Section i. If any apprentice shall absent himself or herself from 
the service of his or her master or mistress, before the time of his or her 
apprenticeship shall be expired, without leave first obtained, every such 
apprentice, at any time after he or she arrives at the age of twenty-one 
years, shall be liable to, and the master or mistress, their heirs, executors, 
or administrators, are hereby enabled to sustain all such actions, and 

29.J 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

other remedies against him or her, as if the said apprentice had been of 
full age at the time of executing his or her indenture of apprenticeship. 

"Section 2. When any master or mistress shall die before the term 
of apprenticeship shall be expired, the executors or administrators of 
such master or mistress, provided the term of the indenture extended to 
executors and administrators, shall and may have a right to assign over 
the remainder of the term of such apprenticeship to such suitable person 
of the same trade or calling mentioned in the indenture, as shall be 
approved of by the court of Quarter Sessions of the county where the 
master or mistress lived, and the assignee to have the same right to the 
service of such apprentice as the master or mistress had at the time of his 
or her death ; and also when any master or mistress shall assign over his 
or her apprentice to any person of the same trade or calling mentioned 
in the indenture, the said assignment shall be legal, provided the terms of 
the indenture extended to assigns, and provided the apprentice, or his or 
her parents, guardian or guardians, shall give his, her, or their consent 
to such assignment before some Justice of the Peace of the county where 
the master or mistress shall live." 

These advertisements are selected from a large number of a similar 
kind that are found in Relf s PlnladelpJiia Gazette and Daily Adve?iiser 
for the years 1S04-5 : 

"GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS. 

" To be disposed of, the time of a number of German Redemptioners, 
consisting of Clerks, Shoemakers, Taylors, Cloth makers. Weavers, Stock- 
ing weavers. Blacksmiths, Watch makers, Miniature painters «S:c. on board 
the Ship Cato, Capt. Barden, from the river Jade, lying off Vine Street, 

apply to the captain on board Cato. 

"Smith Ridgwav i.\: Co. 

" No. 50 n. front street. 
" Nov. 3i-d (1804)." 

"TO BE DISPOSED OF. 

" The Time of a German Servant Girl, who has eight years to serve. 
She is strong and hearty, understands English, and can be well recom- 
mended. Enquire at No. 15 South Third Street. 

" January gth 1S05." 

"GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS. 
"A number of German Redemptioners of different ages and profes- 
sions, to be disposed of on board ship Venus from Amsterdam. For 
terms apply on board, opposite Callowhill street. 

" Sept. 9th 1S05." 

"SWISS AND GERMAN PASSENGERS. 
" The Time 
" Of the following passengers mostly farmers and a few mechanics, 
viz: 17 men, 11 women, 13 boys and 14 girls now to be seen at the 

291 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Spread Eagle Tavern, Callowhill street near the water, to be disposed of 
by their agents Winkleblick & Bund, at the Red Lion Tavern, Market 
Street, between 6 and 7 street. South from 9 in the morning till 6 o'clock 
in the evening. The payment to be made at the counting house of Mr. 
L. Huson, No. 19 South Wharves." 

"GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS. 

" On board the ship Indostan laying in the stream above Vine street, 

consisting of carpenters, bakers, butchers, gardeners, blacksmiths, sugar 

refiners, glass makers, taylors, servants .Sec. eV'C. whose times are to be 

disposed of, by 

" Isaac Hazelhurst (\: Sons. 

" April i6th 1S04." 

"20 DOLLARS REWARD. 

" Ran away on Saturday last from the subscriber, a German in- 
dentured servant man, named Tobias Schwenck, a weaver by trade, about 
25 years of age, about 5 feet 6 inches high. When he speaks he has 
a fashion of swinging his arms in a very passionate manner, pale face, 
slender made, light straight hair, speaks a little English ; took with him 
a tight body blue coat made in the German fashion, a blue surtout coat, 
two pair of Russia sheeting trousers, and a pair of blue velvet pantaloons, 
and a number of other clothing, a pair of new full boots broad round 
toed. 

" Whoever secures the above run-away in any gaol, or delivers him 
to the subscriber, shall receive the above reward and reasonable charges 
paid by 

" Henry Dotterer, 
" Sign of the Buck, Second street, Philadelphia. 

" Oct. 1S04." 

"2 DOLLARS REWARD. 

"Ran away, an indentured Dutch servant girl, (the property of 
Richard Baily, near the 7 mile stone, Germantown) about 8 years of 
age, light complection, named Maria, was dressed in a striped lindsey 
short gown and petticoat, blue worsted stockings, and speaks but little 
of her native language. All persons are cautioned against detaining or 
harboring the said girl. In addition to the above reward, any reason- 
able expense will be allowed. 

" Dec. iSth 1S04." 

" 10 DOLLARS REWARD. 

" Ran away from the subscriber living in the village of New- Holland, 
Lancaster County, on the evening of the 7th last, a German indentured 
servant Girl, named Anna Maria ^^'agner, she came from Germany last 
fall in the brig Newton, Capt. Reilly. She is about 19 or 20 years old, 

292 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of a low stature, she hath short and sandy hair, freckled face, her arms, 
hands, and feet, very small. Had on when she went away, a blue and 
white striped petticoat of German manufacture, and a blue jacket, which 
is remarkable, being lined after the German manner with whalebone. It 
is said that she hath a sister living in the neighborhood of Kutz town, 
Berks county, bound to Mr. Lesher. Whoever will secure and deliver 
her in any gaol, and give notice to the subscriber thereof, so that he may 
get her again, shall have the above reward, and reasonable charges paid. 
All persons are hereby forewarned not to harbour her at their peril. 

"Jonathan Roland. 

" New-Hollaxd, Jan. 3rd 1S05." 

"In law, this system was known as an apprenticeship, or service en- 
tered into by a free person, voluntary, by contract for a term of years on 
wages advanced before the service was entered. The servants, by per- 
forming the service, were redeeming themselves, and therefore called ' Re- 
demptioners.' In practice, however, with a certain class of people, and 
in instances hereinafter related, this system was as revoltingly brutal and 
degenerating as the negro slavery abolished in our own time in its worst 
aspects. 

" It was conceived and had its beginning in the harmless and in 
some respects benevolent idea to help a poor person in Europe who 
wished to emigrate to America and had not the money to pay for his 
passage across the ocean, by giving him credit for his passage-money, on 
condition that he should work for it after his arrival here, by hiring as a 
servant for a term of years to a person who would advance him his wages 
by paying his passage-money to the owner or master of the vessel. 

" There are instances on record when school-teachers, and even min- 
isters of the gospel, were in this manner bought by congregations to 
render their services in their respective offices. Laws were passed for the 
protection of the masters and of the servants. Whilst this is the bright 
side of the Redemptioners' life, it had also a very dark side. The Re- 
demptioners on their arrival here were not allowed to choose their mas- 
ters nor kind of service most suitable to them. They were often sepa- 
rated from their family, the wife from the husband, and children from 
their parents ; were disposed of for the term of years, often at public sale, 
to masters living far apart, and always to the greatest advantage of the 
shipper. I have read many reports of the barbarous treatment they re- 
ceived, how they were literally worked to death, receiving insufficient 
food, scanty clothing, and poor lodging. Cruel punishments were in- 
flicted on them for slight offences when they were at the mercy of a hard 
and brutal master. Their fellow black slave was often treated better, for 
he was a slave for life, and it was in the interest of the master to treat 
him well to preserve him, whilst the poor Redemptioner was a slave for 

293 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

a number of years only, and all his vital force was worked out of him 
during the years of his service. 

" No public records were kept of the contracts entered into abroad 
by the Redemptioners, nor of the time of the expiration of their service. 
The Redemptioners were not furnished with duplicates of their contracts. 
They were sometimes, and could be, mortgaged, hired out for a shorter 
period, sold, and transferred like chattel by their masters. The Redemp- 
tioners belonging to the poor and most of them to the ignorant class, it 
is apparent that under these conditions they were at a great disadvantage 
against a rapacious master, w^ho kept them in servitude after the expiration 
of their true contract time, claiming their services for a longer period. 

"For many years the Redemptioners in Maryland had come prin- 
cipally from England and Ireland. The abuses of the system having be- 
come known in England, rigorous laws and measures were adopted in 
England for their better protection, and letters and articles appeared in 
the newspapers warning the poor people from entering into these con- 
tracts. The first and early immigration of Germans came into Maryland 
from Pennsylvania. From Lancaster County it extended into Baltimore, 
Harford, Frederick, and the western counties of our State. As wages 
advanced, the trade of shipping Redemptioners to the colony became 
highly lucrative. Large profits were made in a successful voyage wath a 
full cargo of human beings, who, on their arrival here, were sold to the 
highest bidder for a term of years. 

"The Dutch, who, in 1620, had sent the first cargo of negro slaves 
to this country, and had amassed great wealth in the pursuit of the negro 
slave-trade from distant Africa, discovered that it was less troublesome 
and equally remunerative to engage in a sort of a white slave-trade, by 
shipping Redemptioners from their own country, Germany, Switzerland, 
and adjoining countries, to the American colonies. The shipping mer- 
chants of Holland would send regular agents, or drummers, as we now 
would call them, who received one-half of a doubloon for every Redemp- 
tioner shipped by them into these colonies. These agents generally ap- 
peared in gaudy dress, with flourish of trumpets, and in glowing language 
depicted the wealth and happiness of the people of this country, whereof 
all could partake if they only would come here ; that they did not need 
any money for their passage, as all they had to do was to sign a contract 
that on their arrival here they would pay for the same out of their first 
earnings. In this manner these agents would travel from village to vil- 
lage, deluding the poorest and most ignorant to follow them to the New 
Eldorado. 

" Whenever such an agent had collected a sufficient number, he would 
take them personally to the shipping harbor in Holland. It was a gay 
crowd which travelled in this manner in wagons across the country. The 
horses and wagons were decorated with gay ribbons, and joyous songs 

294 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

were heard from the emigrants, who believed they were leaving toil and 
poverty to go to the fabulously rich America to enjoy the ease and plenty 
of this world's goods. This spirit was artificially kept up by the liberal- 
ity of the agent until they were safely aboard the ship. From thence 
such a life of suffering, privation, and hardship commenced, that it seems 
incredible that the Christian nations of Europe and America should have 
permitted such a trade to flourish up to nearly the end of the first quarter 
of the present century. I myself know several very old persons yet living 
in Baltimore who came to this country in this manner. The contracts 
which these Redemptioners had to sign in Holland, and which few of 
them then understood, contained the proviso that if any passenger died 
on the voyage, the surviving members of the family, or the surviving Re- 
demptioner passengers, would make good his loss. Thereby a wife who 
had lost her husband during the sea-voyage, or her children, on her arrival 
here would be sold for five years for her own voyage and additional five 
more years for the passage-money of her dead husband or dead children, 
although they may have died in the very beginning of the voyage. If 
there were no members of the family surviving, the time of the dead was 
added to the time of service of the surviving fellow- passengers. The 
effects and property of the dead were confiscated and kept by the cap- 
tain. By this the shipping merchant and the captain of the vessel would 
gain by the death of a part of the passengers, for the dead did not require 
any more food and provision. It seems that many acted on this prin- 
ciple. The ships were often so overcrowded that a part of the passengers 
had to sleep on deck. Christoph Saur, in his petition to the governor 
of Pennsylvania in 1775, asserts that at times there were not more than 
twelve inches room for each passenger (I presume he means sleej3ing 
room below deck), and but half sufficient bread and water. Casper 
^^'ister, of Philadelphia, in 1752, writes, 'Last year a ship was twenty- 
four weeks at sea, and of the one hundred and fifty passengers on board 
thereof more than one hundred died of hunger and privation, and the 
survivors were imprisoned and compelled to pay the entire passage-money 
for themselves and the deceased.' In this year ten ships arrived in 
Philadelphia with five thousand passengers. One ship was seventeen 
weeks at sea, and about sixty passengers thereof died. Christoph Saur, 
in 1758, estimates that two thousand of the passengers on the fifteen 
ships which arrived that year died during the voyage. Heinrich Kep- 
pele, the first president of the Cerman Society of Pennsylvania, writes in 
his diary that of the three hundred and twelve passengers on board of the 
ship wherein he crossed the ocean, two hundred and fifty died during 
the voyage. In February, 1775, Christoph Saur relates in his news- 
paper, 'Another ship has arrived. Of the four hundred passengers, 
not more than fifty are reported alive. They received their bread every 
two weeks. Some ate their portion in four, five, and six days, which 

295 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

should have lasted fifteen days. If they received no cooked victuals 
in eight days, their bread gave out the sooner, and as they had to wait 
until the fifteen days were over, they starved, unless they had money wdth 
which to buy of the mate flour at three pence sterling a pound, and a 
bottle of wine for seven kopstick thalers.' Then he relates how a man 
and his wife, who had ate their bread within eight days, crawled to the 
captain and begged him to throw them overboard, to relieve them of 
their misery, as they could not survive till bread-day. The captain re- 
fused to do it, and the mate in mockery gave them a bag filled with sand 
and coals. The man and his wife died of hunger before the bread -day 
arrived. But, notwithstanding, the survivors had to pay for the bread 
which the dead ought to have had. Pennsylvania, in 1765, at the insti- 
gation of the German Society, passed rigorous laws for the protection of 
the Redemptioners, but ^Maryland remained inactive until more than 
fifty years later." — Heiinighaiisen. 

In Pennsylvania this traffic in white people continued until about 
1S2C-25, when public sentiment compelled it to be discontinued. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PIONEER MONEY. 

"The subject of a national mint for the United States was first intro- 
duced by Robert Morris, the patriot and financier of the Revolution. As 
head of the finance department, Mr. Morris was instructed by Congress 
to prepare a report on the foreign coins then in circulation in the United 
States. On the 15th of January, 17S2, he laid before Congress an expo- 
sition of the whole subject. Accompanying this report was a plan for 
American coinage. But it was mainly through his efforts, in connection 
with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, that a mint was estab- 
lished in the early history of the Union of the States. On the 15th of 
April, 1790, Congress instructed the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander 
Hamilton, to prepare and report a proper plan for the establishment of a 
national mint, and Mr. Hamilton presented his report at the next session. 
An act was framed establishing the mint, which finally .passed both 
houses and received President Washington's approval April 2, 1792. 

"A lot of ground was purchased on Seventh Street near Arch, and 
appropriations w^ere made for erecting the requisite buildings. An old 
still-house, which stood on the lot, had first to be removed. In an 
account-book of that time we find an entry on the 31st of July, 1792, of 
the sale of some old materials of the still-liouse for seven shillings and 

296 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

sixpence, which ' Mr. Rittenhouse directed should be laid out foj- punch in 
laying the foundation-stone.' 

" The first building erected in the United States for public use under 
the authority of the federal government was a structure for the United 
States Mint. This was a plain brick edifice, on the east side of Seventh 
Street near Arch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the corner-stone of which 
was laid by David Rittenhouse, director of the mint, on July 31, 1792. 
In the following October operations of coining commenced. It was 
occupied for about forty years. On the 19th of May, 1829, an act was 
passed by Congress locating the United States Mint on its present site. 

"The first coinage of the United States was silver half-dimes, in 
October, 1792, of which Washington makes mention in his address to 
Congress, on November 6, 1792, as follows : 'There has been a small 
beginning in the coinage of half-dimes, the want of small coins in circu- 
lation calling the first attention to them.' The first metal purchased for 
coinage was six pounds of old copper at one shilling and three pence per 
pound, which was coined and delivered to the treasurer in 1793. The 
first deposit of silver bullion was made on July iS, 1794, by the Bank of 
Maryland. It consisted of ' coins of France,' amounting to eighty thou- 
sand seven hundred and fifteen dollars and seventy-three and a half cents. 
The first returns of silver coins to the treasurer was made on October, 
15, 1794. The first deposit of gold bullion for coinage was made by 
Moses Brown, merchant, of Boston, on February 12, 1795; it was of 
gold ingots, worth two thousand two hundred and seventy-six dollars and 
seventy-two cents, which was paid for in silver coins. 

"The first return of gold coinage was on July 31, 1795, ^'^d con- 
sisted of seven hundred and forty-four half-eagles. The first delivery of 
eagles was on September 22, same year, and consisted of four hundred 
pieces. 

"Previous to the coinage of silver dollars at the Philadelphia Mint, 
in 1794, the following amusing incidents occurred in Congress while the 
emblems and devices proposed for the reverse field of that coin were 
being discussed. 

" A member of the House from the South bitterly opposed the choice 
of the eagle, on the ground of its being the ' king of birds,' and hence 
neither proper nor suitable to represent a nation whose institutions and 
interests were wholly inimical to monarchical forms of government. 
Judge Thatcher playfully, in reply, suggested that perhaps a goose might 
suit the gentleman, as it was a rather humble and republican bird, and 
would also be serviceable in other respects, as the goslings would answer 
to place upon the dimes. This answer created considerable merriment, 
and the irate Southerner, conceiving the humorous rejoinder as an insult, 
sent a challenge to the judge, who promptly declined it. The bearer, 
rather astonished, asked, ' Will you be branded as a coward ?' ' Cer- 
20 297 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tainly, if he pleases,' replied Thatcher; ' I always was one, and he knew 
it, or he would never have risked a challenge.' The affair occasioned 
much mirth, and, in due time, former existing cordial relations were 
restored between the parties, the irritable Southerner concluding there 
was nothing to be gained in fighting with one who fired nothing but 
jokes. 

" Previous to the passage of the law by the federal government for 
regulating the coins of the United States, much perplexity arose from the 
use of no less than four different currencies or rates, at which one species 
of coin was recoined, in the different parts of the Union. Thus, in 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Ver- 
mont, Virginia, and Kentucky the dollar was recoined at six shillings ; in 
New York and North Carolina at eight shillings ; in New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, and Maryland at seven shillings and six pence ; in Georgia and 
South Carolina at four shillings and eight pence. The subject had en- 
gaged the attention of the Congress of the old confederation, and the 
present system of the coins is formed upon the principles laid down in 
their resolution of 1786, by which the denominations of money of ac- 
count were required to be dollars (the dollar to be the unit), dimes or 
tenths, cents or hundredths, and mills or thousandths of a dollar. Noth- 
ing can be more simple or convenient than this decimal subdivision. The 
terms are proper because they express the proportions which they are in- 
tended to designate. The dollar was wisely chosen, as it corresponded 
with the Spanish coin, with which we had been long familiar." — G. G. 
Evans's History of the United States Mint. 

TABLE OF THE DENOMINATIONS OF UNITED STATES MONEY. 

Standard JVeig/it as establisiied by Latu. 

Dwt. Gr. 

\ cent 3 12 

10 mills make I cent 7 00 

i dime o 20j*jf 

10 cents make I dime i I7tV 

i dollar 4 8 

\ dollar 8 16 

lodimesmakei dollar 17 8 

i eagle 2 16^% 

\ eagle 5 9 

10 dollars make I eagle lo l8 

The mills were imaginary and never coined. The old cents were 
made of copper, round, and about one inch in diameter and one-sixth of 
an inch in thickness. 

PIONEER BANKS. 

The pioneer act of the Legi.slature of Pennsylvania regulating banks 
was passed March 21, 181 3, but Governor Snyder vetoed the bill. On 

29S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the 2ist of March, 1814, this bill was "log-rolled" through the Legis- 
lature and became a law over Governor Snyder's veto. Previous to that 
time banks were organized under articles of association. 

CURRENCY. 

"The best currency of those times was New York bank-notes, and 
the poorest those of the Western banks. Pennsylvania bank-notes had 
only a small circulation in the county, and held a place in popular esti- 
mation intermediate between the above. There was a discount on all 
these, ranging from one to twenty per cent. It was for the interest of the 
private bankers to circulate the notes on which there was the largest 
discount, and as a consequence the county was flooded with the bills of 
banks the locations of which were hardly known. Every business man 
had to keep a 'Bank-Note Detector,' revised and published monthly 
or weekly, on hand, and was not sure then that the notes he accepted 
would not be pronounced worthless by the next mail. There was hardly 
a week without a bank failure, and nearly every man had bills of broken 
banks in his possession. To add to the perplexities of the situation, 
there were innumerable counterfeits which could with difficulty be dis- 
tinguished from the genuine. Granting that the bank was good, and 
that the discount was properly figured, there was no assurance that the 
bill was what it purported to be. All this was a terrible annoyance and 
loss to the people, but it was a regular bonanza to the 'shaving-shops.' 
Even of the uncertain bank-notes there was not enough to do the busi- 
ness of the community. Most of the buying and selling was done on 
long credit, and occasionally a manufacturing firm, to ease itself along 
and relieve the necessities of the public, would issue a mongrel coin, 
which went by the name of ' pewterinctum.' " 



CHAPTER XVII. 

"SCOTCH-IRISH" ORIGIN OF THE TERM UNDER JAMES I. LORDS AND 

LAIRDS EARLY SETTLERS IN PENNSYLVANIA THE PIONEER AND EARLY 

SETTLERS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

SCOTCH-IRISH. 

The term "Scotch-Irish" is so frequently used, particularly in Penn- 
sylvania, and is so little understood, even by those who claim such 
relationship, that I consider it appropriate in this place to explain its 
derivation. In the time of James I. of England the Irish earls of Tyrone 
and Tyrconnell conspired against his government, fled from Ireland, 
were proclaimed outlaws, and their estates, consisting of about five hun- 

299 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dred thousand acres of land, were seized by the crown. The king 
divided these lands into small tracts, and gave tracts to persons from 
his own country (Scotland), on the sole condition that each individual 
securing a tract of land should cross over into Ireland within four years 
and reside upon the land permanently. A second insurrection soon 
after gave occasion for another large forfeiture, and nearly six counties in 
the province of Ulster were confiscated and taken possession of by the 
officers of the crown. King James was a zealous sectarian, and his 
primary object was to root out the native Irish, who were all Catholics, 
hostile to his government, and almost continually plotting against it, 
and to populate Ireland with those from his own country, Scotland, 
whom he knew would be loyal to him. 

The distance from Scotland to County Antrim, in Ireland, was but 
twenty miles. The lands offered by James free of cost were among 
the best and most productive in the Emerald Isle, though they had been 
made barren by the strifes of the times and the indolence of a degraded 
peasantry. Having the power of the government to encourage and pro- 
tect them, the inducements offered to the industrious Scotch could not 
be resisted. Thousands went over. Many of them, though not lords, 
were lairds, or those who held lands direct from the crown, and all were 
men of enterprise and energy, and above the average in intelligence. 
They went to work to restore the land to fruitfulness, and to show the 
superiority of their habits and belief compared with those of the natives 
among whom they settled. They soon made to blossom as a rose the 
counties of Antrim, Armagh, Caven, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Lon- 
donderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone, — all names familiar to Jefterson 
County and Pennsylvania settlers. 

These were the first Protestants to settle in Ireland, and they at once 
secured the ascendency in the counties in which they settled, and their 
descendants have maintained that ascendency to the present time against 
the efforts of the Church of England on the one hand and the Roman 
Catholic Church on the other. These Scots refused to intermarry with 
the Irish who surrounded them. The Scotch were Saxon in blood and 
Presbyterian in religion, while the Irish were Celtic in blood and Roman 
Catholic in religion. These were elements that would not coalesce ; 
hence the races are as distinct in Ireland to-day, after a lapse of more 
than two hundred and fifty years, as when the Scotch first crossed over. 
The term Scotch-Irish is purely American. It is not used in Ireland ; in 
the United States it is given to the Protestant emigrants from the north 
of Ireland, simply because they were descendants of the Scots who had 
in former times taken up their residence in Ireland. 

But few Scotch-Irish emigrants found their way to the Province of 
Pennsylvania prior to 1719. 'Hiose that came in that year came from 
the north of Ireland. Subsequently the descendants of the Scots in Ire- 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

land were bitterly persecuted by the English government ; hence thou- 
sands of them migrated to and settled in Pennsylvania. In 1729 
thousands of Scotch-Irish arrived in Philadelphia from Ireland, as well 
as some English, Welsh, and Scotch people, many of whom were sold in 
servitude for a term of from three to seven years, for about forty dollars 
each, to pay passage-money or for their goods. For a further description 
of this form of slavery, see Chapter XV., German Redemptioners. 

In September, 1736, one thousand Scotch-Irish families sailed from 
Belfast because of an inability to renew their land leases upon satisfactory 
terms, and the most of these people settled in the eastern and middle 
counties of Pennsylvania. By a change of residence they hoped to find 
an unrestrained field for the exercise of industry and skill, and for the 
enjoyment of religious opinions. They brought with them a hatred of 
oppression and a love of freedom that served much to give that inde- 
pendent tone to the sentiments of the people of the province which pre- 
vailed in their controversies with the English government years before 
these Scots entertained a thought of American political independence. 

The Scotch-Irish who settled in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsyl- 
vania brought its fair lands under cultivation. They fought the savages 
and stood as a wall of fire against savage forays eastward. It is said that 
between 1771 and 1773 over twenty -five thousand of these Scotch -Irish 
were driven from Ireland by the rapacity of Irish lairds or landlords, 
and located either in that rich valley or west of the Allegheny Mountains 
in Pennsylvania. This was just before the Revolutionary War, and while 
the angry controversies that preceded it were taking place between the 
colonists and the English government. Hence these Pennsylvanians 
were in just the right frame of mind to make them espouse to a man the 
side of the patriots. A Tory was unheard of among them. They were 
found as military leaders iii all times of danger, and were among the 
most prominent law-makers through and after the seven years' struggle 
for freedom and human rights. The Scotch-Irish in the United States 
have furnished Presidents, United States Senators, Congressmen, judges, 
and many others in civil as well as in all stations of life. 

The pioneers of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Jefferson Counties were 
made up principally of these Scotch-Irish or their descendants.* I am 
indebted to the " History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania," 1876, for 
the data and facts contained in this article. 

PIONEER RECORD OF CIYIL LIST. 

Roster of State Officers in 1S04, ^^ Organization. — Thomas IMcKean, 
Governor ; Thomas McKean Thompson, Secretary of the Commonwealth ; 

* The Barnetts and others were of this origin. Washington township was settled 
almost exclusively by them. 

301 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

George Duffield, Auditor-General ; Andrew Ellicott, Secretary of Land- 
Office ; Timothy Matlack, Master of Rolls ; John McKissick, Receiver- 
General ; Samuel Bryan, Controller- General ; Clement Biddle, Escheator- 
General ; Samuel Cochran, Surveyor- General ; Isaac Weaver, State 
Treasurer; Joseph B. McKean, Attorney-General ; Richard Hampton, 
Adjutant-General ; Simon Snyder, Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives ; Robert Whitehill, Speaker of the Senate ; Edward Shippen, Chief 
Justice of Supreme Court. Pennsylvania then had eighteen Congressmen. 
Her United States Senators were George Logan and Samuel Maclay. 

In 1S38 the amended constitution as adopted limited the rights of 
any one man to serve in the office of governor to six years out of nine. 
Under the first constitution of 1790 the limit of service in this office 
was nine years out of twelve. 

LTp to 1840 the judges were all appointed by the governor with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. Supreme Court judges were 
appointed for fifteen years, district judges of the Court of Common 
Pleas were appointed for ten years, and the associate judges were 
appointed for five years. 

OFFICIALS OF WESTMORELAND AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. 
President judge, 1805, Alexander Addison ; 1S06, John Young. 

OFFICIALS OF INDIANA AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. 

Jefferson was attached to Indiana from 1S06 until 1830. Hon. John 
Young, of Greensburg, was president judge from 1806 until 1830. 

Associate Judges appointed and elected. — James Smith, Charles Camp- 
bell, 1806; Joshua Lewis, 1818; John Taylor, 1828; Andrew Browning, 
1829; Samuel Morehead, 1830. 

Protiionotary, Clerk, and Register and Recorder. — James McLain, 
1806-18; John Taylor, 1818-21. 

Prothonotary , Clerk, etc. — James jSIcCahan, 1821-24; Alexander 
Taylor, 1824-2S; William Banks, 1828-30. 

Register and Recorder. — James Speer, 1821-24; Alexander Taylor, 
1824-28; William Banks, 1828-30. 

Sheriff. — Thos. McCartney, 1806-9; Thos. Sutton, 1809-12; Robert 
Robinson, 1S12-15; Thos. Sutton, 1S15-1S; James EUiott, 181S-21 ; 
Henry Kinter, 1S21-24; Clements McGara, 1824-27; and James Gor- 
don, 1827-30. 

Treasurer. — James McKnight, 1811-12; Thos. Sutton, 1S13 ; John 
Taylor, 1S15-16; William Lucas, 1817-1S; William Douglass, 1820-21 ; 
Ale.xander Taylor, 1822-23; William Trimble, 1S24-26; William Lucas, 
1827-29; and lilaney Adair, 1830. 

Commissioners. — William Clark, 1S06-7 ; James Johnson, 1S06; 

.i02 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Alexander McLain, 1806; Wra. Clark, 1808; Alexander McLain, 1808; 
Wm. Clark, 1809; Rev. John Jamison, 1809; James McKnight, 1810 ; 
Rev. John Jamison, iSio; Robt. Robinson, 1810-11; Joshua Lewis, 
1811-12; Rev. John Jamison, 1811; Robt. Robinson, 1812; Joseph 
Moorhead, 1812; Francis Boals, 1813-14; Joshua Lewis, 1813; Joseph 
Moorhead, 1813-14; Francis Boals, 1S14-15 ; Alexander McLain, 18 14- 
16; Garvin Sutton, 1815-17; Thomas Sharp, 1816-18; John Smith, 
1817-19; Thomas Laughlin, 1818-19; Joseph Henderson, 1819-21 ; 
Wm. Clark, 1820; John Smith, 1820; Clements McGara, 1821-22; 
Stewart Davis, 1822-24; Wm. Clark, 1822; Clements McGara, 1823; 
Alexander Pattison, 1823-24; James Gordon, 1824-25. 

Clerk to Commissioners. — James Riddle, 1806; James McKnight, 
1807; Daniel Stannard and James M. Biddle, 180S; Daniel Stannard, 
1809-10; James McKnight, 1811; James M. Kelley, 1812-13; John 
Wilson and James Coulter, 18 14; John Wilson and John Taylor, 1815 ; 
Garvin Sutton and John Taylor, 1816; Daniel Stannard and Stewart 
Davis, 1817; Stewart Davis, 1818-20; Robert Young, 1822-23; 
Ephraim Carpenter, 1824. 

In 1824 Jefferson County elected three commissioners independent 
of Indiana. 

The pioneer elections in Jefferson County for President and governor 
were as follows : 

For President. — 1832, Andrew Jackson, 175; William Wirt, 105. 
1836, Martin Van Buren, 244; William H. Harrison, 231. 1840, 
Martin A^an Buren, 592 ; William H. Harrison, 476. 1S44, James K. 
Polk, 731 ; Henry Clay, 591. 

For Governor. — 1832, Geo. Wolf, 250; Joseph Ritner, 173. 1835, 
Geo. Wolf, 356; Joseph Ritner, 246 ; Muhlenberg, 3. 1838, David R. 
Porter, 591; Joseph Ritner, 421, 1841, David R. Porter, 678; John 
Banks, 447. 1844, Francis R. Shunk, 727; Joseph Markle, 617. 

Pioneer Congressional Districts and Early Members. — Pioneer district, 
Indiana, Westmoreland, and Jefferson: 1816-17, David Marchand ; 
1S20-24, Rev. Plummer ; 1826-2S-30, Richard Coulter. Early districts, 
Armstrong, Butler, Clearfield, and Jefferson: 1832-34, Samuel S. Harri- 
son; 1836-3S, William Beatty ; 1S40, William Jack, first Congressman 
from Jefferson County. Clearfield, McKean, Warren, Potter, Erie, 
Venango, and Jefferson : 1833, Chas. M. Reed. 

Pioneer Senatorial Districts and Senators. — Pioneer district, Indiana, 
Westmoreland, and Jefferson: 1S15, John Reed; 1819, Henry Alls- 
house. Early districts, Indiana, Cambria, Armstrong, Venango, Warren, 
and Jefferson: 1S22, Robert Orr, Jr.; 1825, Ebon S. Kelley. Jefferson, 
Indiana, Armstrong, Venango, and Warren: 1829, Joseph Fox; 1S30, 
William D. Barclay; 1831, Philip Mechling ; 1834, Meek Kelley. Jef- 
ferson, Venango, Warren, McKean, and Tioga: 1S3S, Samuel Hays. 

303 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Warren, and Clarion : 1S42, William P. 
Wilcox. Twenty-eight years and Jefferson no Senator. 

Pioneer Legislative Districts and Members. — Pioneer district, Jeffer- 
son, Indiana, and Armstrong: 1816, Joshua Lewis, James M. Kelley ; 
1817, James M. Kelley, Samuel Houston; 1818, Samuel Houston, 
Robert Orr, Jr. ; 1S19, Robert Orr, Jr. : 1820, Robert Orr, Jr., Robert 
Mitchell ; 1821, Robert Mitchell, James Taylor ; 1822-23, John Taylor, 
Joseph Rankin ; 1824, Joseph Rankin, William Lawson ; 1825, William 
Lawson, Thomas Johnson; 1826, David Lawson, Joseph Rankin; 1827, 
Robert Mitchell, Joseph Rankin; 1828, Joseph Rankin, David Lawson. 
Early districts, Indiana and Jefferson, with one member: 1829, Robert 
Mitchell; 1S30-31, William Houston; 1832, James M. Stewart; 1833- 
34, William Banks; 1835, James Taylor; thirty years connected with 
Indiana and Jefferson never conceded a member by Indiana. Jefferson, 
Warren, and McKean, with one member: 1S36-37, C. B. Curtis; 1838- 
39, ^^'illiam P. Wilcox; 1840, James L. Gillis, first member from Jeffer- 
son ; T841, Lewis B. Dunham, of Jefferson; 1842, Joseph Y. James. 
In 1843 another district was formed, and James Dowling, of Jefferson, 
was elected in 1844. 

"At the election held in 1835 '^'otes were cast on the question of a 
convention to amend the constitution of the State, which resulted in 
Jefferson as follows: for a convention, 424; against a convention, 59. 

" In 1836 the votes cast for delegate to the convention were as follows : 
Thomas Hastings, 303; O. Hamlin, 284; Benjamin Bartholomew, 127; 
and Powell, 10. 

" In 1838 the vote on the amendment to the constitution stood as fol- 
lows : for amendment, 593 ; against amendment, 356. 

"At the general election in 1839 the first prothonotary was chosen. 
Levi G. Clover received therefor 544 votes, and William Campbell 358 
votes. 

" The first county treasurer chosen by the people was at the election in 
the year 1841. Samuel Craig received 357 votes ; Thomas Hastings, 300 ; 
David Henry, 230; and Samuel Carey, 219. 

"The act of Assembly, passed April 8, 1830, having bestowed full 
powers, rights, and privileges upon the citizens of Jefferson, and invest- 
ing complete authority in the county, as an organized body politic, the 
first general election for State and county officers was held on the second 
Tuesday of October of that year. The number of townships was then 
five, — viz. : Pine Creek, Ridgeway, Perry, Rose, and Young. The officers 
voted for and the number of votes received by each candidate are as fol- 
lows : 

'^Congress. — Richard Coulter, 162; James Pollock, 121. 

^'Senate. — Philip Mechling, 143; Joseph M. Fox, 41 ; William D. 
Barclay, 103. 

304 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

^^ Assembly. — William Houston, 176 ; Meek Kelley, loS. 

Sheriff. — Thomas McKee, 130; Frederick Heterick, 129; William 
Bowers, 93. 

'^ Coroner. — John Tucas, 230; John Barnett, 2; Joseph Long, 51; 
John Hess, i. 

^^Commissioner. — Robert Andrews, 90; Jacob Hoover, S3 ; John Lat- 
timer, 36 ; William Kennedy, 6 ; Isaac Lewis, 59 ; John McClelland, 13. 

^^ Auditor. — John Hess, 13S ; John Welsh, 102 ; John Eason, 20 ; John 
Bell, 2 ; Peter Sutton, i." — Atlas. 

The county was erected in 1S04, but there was no election of any 
kind held until Friday, March 20, 1807. Pine Creek township was estab- 
lished in 1806, and the election district made at Joseph Barnett's. In 
1819, Perry was created. This made two election districts, one at Bar- 
nett's and one at Bell's. Little Sandy was the dividing line. Previous 
to 1826 all the settlers on the north of this line had to vote at Port Bar- 
nett, and all south at John Bell's. All legal business had to be trans- 
acted at Indiana until 1830. No voters in the county before 181 4 could 
vote at a general election. Yet even after 181 4 there was no record of 
our vote, for Jefferson votes were counted in with Indiana. 

PIONEER ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR OFFICE PREVIOUS TO NOMINATING 

CONVENTIONS. 

"To the free and independent electors of Jefferson County, who 
are opposed to petty aristocracies and serving friends out of the public 
treasury, I offer myself as a candidate for the office of County Auditor, 
and pledge myself, if elected, to pay some regard to the oath of office, 
and oppose the settling of any account paid out of the county treasury that 
is not strictly legal. 

" Elijah Heath." 
— Brookville Republican, August 24, 1837. 

"to the free and independent electors of JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

" To all who are opposed to petty aristocracies, to serving friends and 
pensioners out of the public treasury, and, in short, to all who are op- 
posed to petty monopolies, petty larceny, and to those who sacrifice 
honor, truth, and honesty at the shrine of Mammon, or in any manner 
worship the golden calf at the hazard of the damnation of their souls, L 
on the suggestion, and at the earnest solicitation of many friends, offer 
myself, at the ensuing election, as a candidate for the office of County 
Auditor, and I hereby stand pledged, if elected, to pay full and com- 
plete regard to the oath of office and to oppose settlement of any account 
not in good faith strictly honest. 

" C. A. Alexander." 
— Brookville Republican, August 31, 1837. 

305 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

PIONEER ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH NOMINATING CONVENTIONS FOR 
COUNTY OFFICERS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

Previous and up to the year 1837 everybody who wished announced 
and ran for ofifice in the county without a caucus nomination, but in that 
year the pioneer effort was made to organize a party system of nominating 
candidates, — viz. : 

•' PUBLIC MEETING. 

" In pursuance of a notice in the BrookviUe Republican the Democratic 
citizens of Jefferson County assembled at the court-house in the borough 
of BrookviUe, on Saturday, the 26th of August, instant, to take into 
consideration the propriety of electing delegates to meet similar dele- 
gates at Montmorency from the counties of Warren and jNIcKean, to 
put in nomination a suitable person to be supported at the next general 
election to represent the district composed of the counties of Warren, 
McKean, and Jefferson. 

■'On motion, Richard Arthurs, Esq., was appointed President, Wil- 
liam Rodgers, Esq., and Daniel Coder, Vice-Presidents, and Jesse G. 
Clark, Secretary. 

" The object of the meeting being briefly and ably stated by John J. 
Y. Thompson, Esq., the following resolutions were adopted, — viz. : 

^^ Resolved, That Uriah Matson and Thomas Hastings, Esqrs., be ap- 
pointed delegates of the Democratic party to meet similar delegates from 
Warren and McKean Counties, at Montmorency, on the 30th day of 
August, inst., to put in nomination a suitable person to be supported at 
the general election to represent this district in the next Legislature. 

''Resolved, That a notice be published in the BrookviUe Republican, 
requesting the several townships in the county to send delegates to meet 
at the court-house on the Wednesday evening of the next September 
court, to put in nomination suitable persons to fill the various offices in 
said county, to be supported at the next annual election. 

''Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the 
officers and published in the BrookviUe Republican. 

" R. Arthurs, 

Rresidenl. 
William Rodgers, 
Daniel Coder, 

Vice-Presidents. 
Jesse G. Clark, 

Secretary. ' ' 

PIONEER NOMINATING CONVENTION— ORGANIZATION OF THE SYS- 
TEM OF CONVENTION NOMINATIONS IN THE COUNTY. 

" TOWNSHIP meetings. 

'"The citizens of the several townships throughout this county are 
requested to hold meetings in their several townships, and appoint dele- 

.io6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

gates to meet in convention, in the court-house, on Wednesday evening, 
the 13th of September next (court week), for the purpose of putting in 
nomination suitable persons to be supported by the Democratic Anti- 
Bank, Anti-Shinplaster party for the several county officers. 

'■' Democrats." 
— Brookvillc Democrat- Republican, August 31, 1837. 

PIONEER ELECTION OF DELEGATES— DEMOCRATIC GENERAL 
COUNTY MEETING. 

" Pursuant to a resolution of the convention which assembled in War- 
ren on the 6th of September last, for the purpose of nominating a can- 
didate to represent the legislative district composed of the counties of 
Jefferson, Warren, and McKean in the General Assembly, it is enjoined 
on the several counties in the assembly district to appoint two delegates 
from each county to meet in convention on future occasions to bring up a 
candidate for this district, and that they assemble for said purpose at the 
house of Gould Richardson, in Montmorency, Jefferson County, on the 
last Wednesday in August next. 

" Agreeable to the foregoing resolve the Democratic citizens of Jeffer- 
son will meet at the court-house, in the borough of Brookville, on Satur- 
day, the 26th instant, at five o'clock, to appoint two delegates to confer 
with the delegates from other counties in said convention. 

" Many Democrats." 
— Brookville Republican, August 10, 1S37. 

PIONEER JU.STICES OF THE PEACE. 

It appears by the records in the office of the Secretary of the Com- 
monwealth at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that the pioneer justices of the 
peace for Jefferson County were appointed in the year 1S09, — viz. : 
Thomas Lucas, on the i6th of January, a.d. 1S09, and John Scott on 
the 17th of March, a.d. 1809. 

In the books at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, containing the appoint- 
ments of justices of the peace from the year 1S09 until the year 1840, 
when the office became elective, the following record of justices of the 
peace of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, appears : 

FIRST DISTRICT. 

Composed of the townships of Perry and Young and that part of Pine 
Creek lying south of the State Road leading from Milesburg to Erie, 
bounded by the county line and said road : 

John Bell, appointed March S, iSiS. 

Thomas Lucas, appointed January 16, 1S09. 

Charles C. Gaskill, appointed August 15, 1822. Resigned March 12, 
1824. 

307 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Andrew H. Bowman, appointed February 28, 1826. Resigned. 

Elijah Heath, appointed May 16, 1S28. 

John Hess, Sr., appointed August 20, 1830. Resigned March 7, 1831. 

John Winslow, appointed May 20, 1831. 

William Stunkard, appointed October 22, 1831. 

James Bell, appointed November 13, 1832. 

John Robinson, appointed May 27, 1833. 

Alexander McKnight, appointed October 25, 1S33. 

Martin Shoaf, appointed October 31, 1833. 

James M. Steedman, appointed January i, 1S34. 

William Ferguson, appointed May 27, 1835. 

John Robinson, appointed in 1836. 

James Corbett, appointed June, 1S37, for District No. i, composed 
of the townships of Perry, Young, and that part of Pine Creek lying 
south of the State Road leading from Milesburg to Erie, bounded by the 
county line and said road, including the borough of Brookville. 

SECOND DISTRICT. 

To include the remainder of said county lying north of the State 
Road leading from Milesburg to Erie, bounded by the county line and 
said State Road, including Ridgeway township : 

Joseph McCullough, appointed December i, 1823. 

John Stratton, appointed March, 31, 1837. 

Reuben A. Aylesworth, appointed February 18, 1S32, and resides in 
Ridgeway township. Resigned March 15, 1836. 

John Wilson, appointed January 8, 1835. 

Stephen Tibbetts, appointed February 14, 1835. 

EARLY JUSTICES OF THE PEACE— PIONEER ELECTION, 1840. 

Young Townsliip. — William Davis, Lemuel Carey. 

Porter Townsliip — John Robinson. 

Paradise Tow 11 ship. — 

Pine Creek Township. — John J. Y. Thompson, Nathaniel Butler. 

JVashington TownsJiip. — Andrew Smith, AA'illiam Reynolds. 
Eldred Townsiiip. — William McNeil, David Lamb. 
Snyder Toionship. — Milton Johnston, Asaph ]\L Clarke. 
Barnett Township. — Oran Butterfield, John A. Maize. 
Ridgeway TownsJiip. — James (iallagher, Lyman Wilmarth. 

Tionesta Toivnship. — John G. Williamson. 
Jenks TownsJiip. — Cyrus Blood. 

1842. 
Rose ToivnsJiip. — William Kelso. 
Clover TownsJiip. — Darius Carrier. 
Porter Toionship. — Martin H. Shannon. 

30S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Snyder Towiis/iip. — Isaac Ingalls. 
Pine Creek Toiunship. — Samuel Howe. 
Jenks Tl^w//^///)).— Russell Buffum. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY ROSTER. 
The various offices in Jefferson County have been filled by the fol- 
lowing persons, either by election or appointment, since 1824. The 
commissioners, treasurer, and auditors, being the first officers of the pro- 
visional county, we commence with them. The figures at the com- 
mencement of the line denote the year they were elected or appointed. 

Year. Commissioners. Treasurers. Auditors. 

(And. Barnett 
John Lucas 
J. W. Jenks 

{A. Baldwin. 
James Corbett. 
T. Robinson. 

1826 F. Hetericl< J. Brockway. 

1S27 Tlios. McKee Christoplier Barr .... Jonathan Coon. 

1S2S Thos. Lucas Jolin Christy. 

1829 Elijah Heath Andrew Barnett .... J. McCullough. 

1830 R. Andrews . John Hess. 

1831 J. Henderson J. B. Evans Wm. Kelso. 

1832 C. R. Barclay D. Postlethwait. 

1833 L. G. Clover Wm. A. Sloan .... John Welsh. 

1834 Jas. Corbett J. M. Stedman .... Wm. Ferguson. 

1835 ...... Jas. Winslow Jas. L. Gillis J. J. Y. Thompson. 

1836 J. Philliber A. McKnight H. Robinson. 

1837 John Pierce C. Alexander. 

1838 Daniel Coder Daniel Smith . . . . Jesse Smith. 

1839 Irwin Robinson .... W^m. Roclgers M. Johnston. 

1840 B. McCreight J. G. Clark ...... James Gray. 

1841 Joel Spyker Nathaniel Butler .... James Perry. 

1842 J. Gallagher Samuel Craig W. Reynolds. 

1843 John Drum J. Henderson. .... John Pifer. 

1S44 Enoch Hall A. McKinstry. 

The first election for treasurer took place in 1S41, when Samuel 
Craig was elected. Previous to that time they were appointed by the 
commissioners for one year, and were eligible to reappointment. 

Jonathan Coon died in the spring of 1S38, and Samuel Newcomb 
was elected in his place at the general election to fill the unexpired term 
as auditor. 

Charles R. Barclay, commissioner, resigned in the spring of 1834. 
John Lattimer was appointed until the election, and then James AVinslow 
was elected to fill the vacancy one year. 

Treasurer McKnight died June 20, 1S37, and on the 22d of the same 
month Daniel Smith was appointed to fill the vacancy. 

309 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Prothonotarics were appointed by the governor until 1839, the amended 
constitution making them elective for three years. James Corbett, ap- 
pointed in 1830; Thomas Hastings in 1832; Thomas Lucas in 1835; 
Levi G. Clover, appointed in 1839, and elected in the fall of the same 
year; John McCrea, elected in 1842. 

Sheriffs. — 1830, Thomas McKee ; 1833, WilHam Jack, appointed in 
June, in room of McKee, dead ; in the fall of the same year ^Villiam 
Clark was elected; in 1836, Joseph Henderson elected; 1839, John 
Smith; 1842, Thompson Barr. 

Coroners. — 1830, John Lucas; 1833, J. Christy; 1836, Joseph Sharp; 
1838, John Earheart; 1839, John Lucas; 1842, Henry Frease. The office 
of coroner has been considered of such small importance that but few 
persons lift their commissions. 

President Judges. — 1830, Thomas Burnside appointed; resigned in 
1835, and Nathaniel B. Eldred appointed ; Eldred resigned in 1839, and 
Alexander McCalmont appointed, whose term expired in 1849. 

Associate Judges. — In 1830, John AV. Jenks and Elijah Heath were 
appointed; Heath resigned in 1S35, and William Jack was appointed; 
Jack resigned in 1837, and Andrew Barnett was appointed. In 1841 
James Winslow was appointed in room of John W. Jenks, whose term of 
office expired under the amended constitution. In February, 1843, 
Andrew Barnett's time expired, and James L. Gillis was appointed, but 
in consequence of the erection of Elk County, Gillis resigned in Novem- 
ber of the same year, and Levi G. Clover was appointed. 

commissioners' clerks. 
1824-26, Ira AVhite : 182S, James Diven ; 1829, William Morrison; 
1830-31, Wilham M. Kennedy; 1832, Benjamin Bartholomew; 1833, 
Jesse Smith; 1834-35, John Beck; 1836, John AVilson ; 1838-39, Jesse 
G. Clark; 1840-41, William Rodgers ; 1842-43, Hugh Brady. 

PIONEER APPEALS. 

" NOTICE. 

"The taxable inhabitants of Jefferson County will take notice that 
the commissioners will hold the appeals for said county as follows, — viz. : 

"On Tuesday, the 17th day of February next, at James Caldwell's 
in Punxsutawny for Young township. 

"On Wednesday, the i8th February next, at Sprankle's Mill for 
Perry township. 

" C)n Thursday, the T9th day of February next, at Andrew Barnett's 
for Pine Creek township. 

" On Friday, the 20th day of February next, at the commissioners' 
office in Brookville for Rose township. 

" On Tuesday, the 24th day of February next, at James Gallagher's for 
Ridgeway township. 

310 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" On Tuesday, the 24th day of February next, at William Armstrong's 
for Barnett township. 

" By order of the commissioners. 

"John Beck, C/er/.-. 
"Commissioners' Office, Brookville, Feb. 12, 1835. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FROM 1S30 TO 1840. 

I COPY from a book published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1832, 
the following : 

" Jefferson County was provisionally erected by an act of 26th March, 
1804, and is bounded north by McKean and Warren, east by McKean 
and Clearfield, south by Indiana, and west by Armstrong and ^'enango 
Counties. Greatest length 46 miles, mean breadth 26 ; area, 1200 square 
miles. Central lat. 41° 15' N., long. 2° W. from W. C. 

" Like the rest of Northwestern Pennsylvania, the county is hilly, and 
iron and coal are in abundance ; the latter is in every part of the county. 
The soil in the valleys is in many places highly fertile, but the great body 
of the county cannot be rated above second quality. It is abundantly 
watered, having on the south Mahoning Creek ; on the west Little 
Sandy Lick Creek and Big Sandy Lick Creek, whose branches stretch 
across the county. Clarion River, or Toby's Creek, with its many and 
large ramifications, intersects the northern half of the county in every 
direction. 

" The State Road from Kittanning to Hamilton, in the State of New 
York, runs diagonally across the county from southwest to northeast, and 
the turnpike road from Phillipsburg to Franklin traverses it from south- 
east to northwest, passing through the town of Brookville ; and a company 
has lately been incorporated for making a turnpike road from Ridgeway, 
through Warren County, to the State line in New York, in the direction 
of Jamestown. 

"There are three small villages in the county, including the seat of 
justice, — viz. : Brookville, Punxsutawney, and Ridgeway. At the first, 
which was commenced in August, 1S30, there are about 40 dwellings, 4 
taverns, and 4 stores; at Punxsutawney 10 or 15 dwellings, 2 taverns, 
and I store ; and at Ridgeway some half-dozen dwellings, etc. Port 
Barnett, Centre, Cooper, and Jefferson are marked on the map as towns. 
There is a tavern at the first. The others are mere names. 

" There are two or three grist-mills only, but more than four times as 
many saw-mills, and the export of the county is lumber solely, unless 
venison hams be included. Two million of feet of white pine boards, 

311 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFP^ERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

etc., were cut in 1830 and rafted down the Big Mahoning, Red Rank, 
or Sandy Lick Creek, and Clarion River, to the Allegheny River, and 
thence to Pittsburg and other towns on the Ohio. 

"The population is composed of Cxermans, some English, and some 
settlers from New York, and consisted, by the census of 1830, of 2025. 
That there is room for great increase is obvious, when we observe that 
this population might be comfortably supported on 2000 acres, whilst 
766,000 acres are unsettled. There are several sects of Christians in 
these wilds, chiefly Presbyterians, Seceders, and Methodists. But there 
is not a church in the county. -■- 

"Venango, Warren, Armstrong, Indiana, and Jefferson form the 
twenty-fourth senatorial district of the State, sending one member to the 
Senate. Indiana and Jefferson, united, send one member to the House 
of Representatives. Jefferson belongs to the fourth judicial district, and 
to the western district of the Supreme Court, and, connected with West- 
moreland and Indiana, constitutes the seventeenth Congressional district. 

"This county paid into the State treasury in 1831 for — 

"Tax on writs, $35; for tavern licenses, $33.44; for duties on 
dealers in foreign merchandise, $31.69; total, §100.13. Value of tax- 
able property in 1829, real estate, $509,801 ; of personal estate, $14,777 ; 
rate of levy, 7}^ mills on the dollar. 

" Unimproved lands are offered for sale in this county at from 150 to 
200 cents per acre." 

"STATISTICAL TABLE OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, 1832. 



Townships. 



Perry . . . 
Pine Creek 
Rose . . . 
Ridgevvay . 
Young . . 



Greatest 

1 


Length. 


Breadth. 


II 


9 , 


IS 


12 


39 


12 


23 


17 


9 


9 



Area in Acres. 



49,280 

85,760 

289,520 

262,040 

51,840 



Population. 



1820. 
205 



1830. 

2025 in 

the whole 

county. 



Taxables. 



86 
49 
"5 
26 
70 



" The population has not been classed by townships in 1830. 
"JEFFERSON COUNTY, 1S32. 

Post-Offices. Names of Postmasters. ,i^^"f^ ^''?'" Miles from 

Washington. Harrisburg. 

Brockwayville Alonzo Brockway .... 226 154 

Brookville Jared B. Evans .'.... 23S 165 

Montmorency ...... James L. Gillis 242 171 

Punxsutawney John \V. Jenks 216 160 

Ridgeway Reuben A. Ayleswortli . . 236 165." 

■Gordon^ s Gazetteer, 1832. 



* There was one abandoned log church building in the county near Roseville,- 
viz. : Rehoboth. — McKnight. 

312 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
OFFICIAL ELECTION RETURNS FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY, 1837. 



Borough. 


Rose. 


Pine 
Creek. 


Young. 


Perry 


Snyder. 


Eldred. 


Ridge- 
way. 








ASSEMBLY. 










Carleton B. Curtis 


22 


27 


13 


1 


4 


8 


15 


15 


William Clawson 


52 


64 


47 


"5 


S4 


9 


9 










COMMISSIONER. 








John Pierce . . 


32 


28 


2S 


12 


9 


7 


12 


I 


Cliristopher Ban- 


20 


34 


iS 


4 


28 


I 


6 




David Henry . . 


13 




5 


4S 


7 


I 


3 




William Kelso . 


6 


50 


I 




16 




2 


14 


John Smith . . 


2 


4 


53 


12 


12 


I 






Robert K. Scott 




6 


5 


I 




2 






James P. Stewart 


7 




I 




22 


3 












AUDITOR. 










Daniel Coder . 


24 


33 


6 


10 


16 


9 


5 


5 


C. A. Alexander 


43 


6 


42 


93 


69 


6 


14 




Elijah Heath . . 


13 


iS 


14 


15 


2 


8 


I 


2 


Joseph Magittin 


6 


43 


I 




7 




5 





Barnett. 



26 



6 

I 

14 



3 
6 

9 
II 



1S37— APPOINTED BY THE COMMISSIONERS. 

"Alexander iNIcKnight, Esq., to be treasurer of Jefferson County for 
the current year of 1S37 from the ist instant. 

"(Note. — We are gratified to be able to announce the reappoint- 
ment of Esquire McKnight. He has filled the office with honor to him- 
self and credit to the county.)" — Brookvillc Republican, January 12, 

1837. 

"DIED. 

"In this borough, on Thursday last, of pulmonary consumption, 
Alexander McKnight, Esquire, treasurer of Jefferson County, aged 
twenty-seven years and six days, leaving a disconsolate widow and three 
helpless children to deplore his untimely exit. 

"In the death of Esquire McKnight it may truly be said that this 
county and community at large have sustained an irreparable loss. His 
deportment through life was frank, open, and circumspect. Honesty 
was one of his most ennobling characteristics. Esteemed by those with 
whom he had intercourse in life, his decease was equally lamented. In 
a word, he was a faithful officer, the honest man, and the good citizen. 
Peace to his memory. — Brookville Deviocrat-Rcpiiblican, June 22, 1837. 

Pioneer book- and medicine-store advertised in the Brookville Repub- 
lican, August 31, 1837 : 

" ' Books and Medicines' 
"just received and for sale at this office." 



313 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

A RAILROAD COLLISION OF 1S37. 

"fatal railroad accident. 

" Steamboat ' Columbus,' 

" August 12, 1837. 

" The most serious accident has occurred in Eastern Virginia since 
my recollection happened on the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad, one 
and a half miles from Suffolk, yesterday, between nine and ten o'clock. 
A company, consisting of about one hundred and fifty ladfes and gentle- 
men, from the counties of the Isle of Wight, Xansemond, and Southamp- 
ton, came down on the railroad on Thursday, the loth inst., with the 
view of visiting Portsmouth, Norfolk, Fortress Monroe, and returning the 
next day. On their return, at the time and place above mentioned, they 
met a locomotive and train of burden-cars, and, horrible to relate, the 
two ran together while going at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour." 
— Brookvillc Repiblican, August 31, 1S37. 

NOTICE. 

"list of retailers. 

" In pursuance of an act of Assembly, approved the 7th day of April, 
1830, requiring the county treasurer to publish a list of the retailers of 
foreign merchandise, designating those who have and those who have not 
paid for license on or before the ist day of June, I publish the following 
list, certified by the associate judges and commissioners on the 14th day 
of February, 1837 : 

Retailers. 

William Campbell . 

Charles R. Barclay 

James McKennon & Co 

James Rol)inson 

Evans & Clover 

Jared B. Evans 

Heath, Dunham & Co. 

Enos Gillis 

Hughes & Dickenson 



lass. 


Paid. 


7 


Not. 


8 


" 


7 


" 


8 


'< 


6 


" 


7 


" 


6 


(( 



"All retailing foreign merchandise in Jefferson County and not enu- 
merated in the above list are re<iuested, under penalty of law, to take out 
license. 

"The eighth section of the above act requires the treasurer to bring 
suits in June against all delinquent retailers of foreign merchandise. 

"It is hoped that those interested will prevent legal action by caUing 
in due time for the license. Those who neglect may rest assured the 
requisitions of the law will be strictly complied with. All persons having 

314 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

obtained liberty to keep public houses are requested to call and take their 
license. Those who neglect will be returned to court as the law directs. 

"A. McKnight, 

" Treasurer. 
"Treasurer's Office, Brookville, JNIay 15, 1S37." 

Table of taxable inhabitants of Jefferson County, together with the 
seated and unseated township taxes, for the year 1S37 : 

Township. Inhabitants. Seated Tax. Unseated Tax. 

Ridgeway 40 $42.32 $3^-21 

Barnett 76 74.34 74.34 

Eldred 37 39.14 36.43 

Perry .... 209 221.12 205. So 

Pine Creek 103 loS.97 101.38 

Rose 252 264.50 24S.14 

Snyder 41 43.38 40.37 

Young 146 154-46 14347 

Table of township assessors for the year 1837 : 

Rose township Samuel Lucas. 

Perry township Thomas Gourley. 

Ridgeway township Lyman Wilmarth. 

Eldred township John Wilson. 

Tionesta township David Mead. 

Barnett township James Aharrah. 

Jenks township Cyrus Blood. 

Pine Creek township Joseph Carr. 

Washington township Henry Keys. 

Snyder township Joseph McAfee. 

Young township John Grube. 

"ONE CENT REWARD. 

" Ran away from the subscriber on the 5th inst. an indentured ap- 
prentice to the tailoring business, named Michael Stine, of Geniian de- 
scent. His clothing consisted of a straw hat, flannel roundabout, black 
cloth pantaloons, and coarse shoes. Any person returning said runaway 
shall receive the above reward, but neither thanks nor charges. 

"Benjamin McCreight. 

" Brookville, March 7, 1837."' 

PAMPHLET LAWS. 

" Persons wishing to subscribe for the pamphlet laws of the present 
session will do well to apply soon. 

"A. McKxiGHT, 

" Treasurer. 
" Treasurer's Office, Brookville, December 22, 1836." 

315 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The laws were bound in "board" and sold at fifty cents-, and were 
then published in English and German editions. 

"JACKSON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN CELEBRATION. 

" Pursuant to previous arrangements, the citizens commemorated the 
4th day of July by appointing 

"Colonel Wm. Jack, president of the day. 

" Hon. E. Heath, vice-president. 

"C. G. j\I. Prime, orator. 

" L. B. Dunham, reader of the Declaration of Independence. 

"J. J. Y. Thompson, reader of toasts. 

" Colonel John Smith, marshal of the day. 

"regular toasts. 

" I, The day we celebrate. 

"2. President and Yice-President of the United States. 

" 3, General George Washington. His virtue and patriotism will 
long remain in the minds of the American people. May laurels thicken 
around his grave. 

" 4. The heroes of the Revolution, who fought our battles and in the 
dark days of our adversity wrought out our political salvation ; men whose 
disinterested achievements are not transcended in all the annals of 
chivalry, and who for us confronted horrors not surpassed in all the 
history of the martyrs. They are entitled to the gratitude and liberality 
of American people. 

"5. Ciovernor Wolf, our venerable chief magistrate, a consistent 
Democrat and faithful servant of the people, his administration insures 
him the suffrages and gratitude of his constituents. 

" 6. General Lafayette, the benefactor of the old and the liberator 
of the new world. His generous virtue and patriotic principles, more 
powerful than the armed hosts of nations, swayed empires and controlled 
the destinies of the earth. Alas ! death has summoned his choice spirit 
home to that celestial bower, where he sits in the highest niche in that 
bright constellation of patriots. His memory is indelibly engraven on 
the hearts of all freemen. The hero, philanthropist, and champion of 
liberty. 

"7. The Constitution of the United States. The highest evidence 
of learning, genius, profound wisdom, and devout patriotism ; our 
nation's most redoubtable fortress defends the invasions of aspiring 
demagogues or intriguing political jugglers. The first who dare attack 
it, may he perish beneath its ramparts. 

"8. The United States Bank. Old Nick's kingdom. .Satan and his 
angels are roving to and fro, from the east to the west, seeking whom 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

they may devour; but, fortunate for America's people, the meridian is 
fast approximating, when Satan shall be bound and his kingdom washed 
away. 

" g. United States Senate. An ambitious and turbulent cabal ; they 
present to the people of the United States a perfect picture of what man 
is when deprived of the divine faculty of reason. 

" lo. Agriculture and commerce. The bone and sinew of our re- 
public ; our stronghold in war, our wealth in peace ; twin stars that will 
light us into prosperity and glory. 

''II. Arts and manufactures. To encourage and foster them is 
placing a i/ome over our national fabric, and finishing the stately edifice 
with the touch of a masterly hand. 

" 12. Thomas Jefferson, the illustrious author of the Declaration of 
Independence, the able supporter and advocate of the Federal Constitu- 
tion, the champion of civil and religious liberty, 

"13. The American fair. Last in our toasts, first in our hearts, and 
last to be forgotten. 

" ' The fair, how fairer can they be ? 

From all corruptions and faults are free. 
Their hearts all beat for sacred liberty, 
For union to a man, and so are we.' 

"VOLUNTEER TOASTS. 

"By the president of the day, Colonel ^Vm. Jack. Samuel McKean. 
Unworthy the situation he holds, the next Legislature will request his 
retiring to his original obscurity. 

" By the vice-president of the day, Hon. Elijah Heath. The judiciary 
of Pennsylvania. May they always keep themselves untrammelled from 
politics. 

" By the orator of the day, C. G. M. Prime. Andrew Jackson. Like 
Moses, he has rescued us by the rod of his miracles ; but unlike Aaron, 
with that nh/ he smote the Go/ Jen Calf. 

" By C. J. Dunham. Anti-Masons. Although the noisy advocates 
of ^ hni< and order,' they are usually the first to outrage the one and mar 
the harmony of the other. 

" By John Dougherty. The hero of New Orleans. The undaunted 
chieftain, ever ready to drop the gauntlet to the foes of freedom. The 
liberal sons of Neptune in Charleston have rigged him with a constitu- 
tional shillalah from the timber of old Ironsides. May it defend the 
deposits from the grasp of King Biddle, as it did liberty from the chains 
of King George. 

"By J. J. Y. Thompson. Hon. Samuel McKean. The fawning 
sycophant of Clay, Webster and Co., against whom no prudence can 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

guard, no courage defend. The insidious smile upon his cheek should 
warn his constituents of the canker in his heart. 

" By Robert Larrimore. Anti-Masonry. A rotten ladder for down- 
hill politicians to climb to power. 

"By Jesse Clark. General Lafayette. He sat by the cradle of our 
independence, and never in a long and eventful life was he for a moment 
unfaithful to the principles of our independence, to the maintenance of 
which his youth and manhood were devoted. Americans will hold him 
in grateful remembrance while the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls a 
wave. 

"By Richard Arthurs. May Congress lay by their political weapons 
of rebellion and unite in protecting the Union. 

" By John Gallagher. The President of the United States. In spite 
of nullifiers and fi/ue /ighfs, he will ride out the storm in safety, the 
vestal fire of liberty, whose light illuminates the path of the patriot to 
the temple of freedom, may its genial rays not be shed in vain o'er the 
green fields of America. 

"By L. B. Dunham. Henry Clay, the great grand high priest of 
envy, malice, and all uncharitableness. His efforts to sacrifice our be- 
loved President at the altar of his horrid deity, the United States Bank, 
will only sink him deeper in the bog. 

" By John B. Butler. Martin Van Buren. May the laurels he has 
won so nobly in defending the principles of Andrew Jackson and hurling 
political Anti-Masonry to the regions of darkness eventually elevate him 
to the Presidential chair. 

" By Colonel John Smith, John Quincy Adams. A great politcal 
sinner. 

" By Wm. Clark, Esq. Martin Van Buren. The next candidate for 
the Presidential chair. All opposition to him will be in vain. His 
enemies will vanish away like snow in the grasp of a heated hand. 

"By John Earheart. To the afflicted. Down-hill politicians are 
hereby informed that there is yet room for them in the Anti-Masonic 
ranks. 

"By John Beck. Hon. William Wilkins, our talented Senator in 
Congress. His able and zealous support of our venerable President and 
the acts of his administration, particularly in reference to the British 
ban/c, merits and will receive the approbation of all true Pennsylvanians. 

"By George R. Barrett. The Democratic party of Jefferson County. 
God speed its progress ! 

" By C. Blood. The citizens of Brookville. May peace, prosperity, 
and independence ever attend them for their disinterested attention and 
hospitality to strangers. 

" p]y C. J. Dunham. The orator of the day. Mighty in the cause 
of truth. 

318 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
" By Daniel Smith. The fair sex. 

" ' Auld nature smiles, his lovely dears 
Her noblest work she classes, O. 
Her 'prentice han' she tried on man, 
And then she made the lasses, O.' 

"By L. B. Dunliam. The fair sex. The patent work of God's 
invention. 

" By Richard Arthurs. He that tramples upon the rights and speaks 
disdainful of the fair sex, may all good society treat him with unlimited 
contempt. 

" By a guest. Political blacklegs: Senator Clay, two bullets and a 
bragger. Hard case .' Senator Forsyth, two bullets and a bragger, and 
the eldest hand. Do you give it up? Tune, Sweep-Stakes. 

" By a guest. The liberty pole. May we see it rising in strength as 
long as Democracy shall dwell in the breasts of man, and those who 
would attempt to put it down be treated as tyrants trampling upon the 
liberties of their country. 

" By the company. The officers of the day. The dignity with 
which they presided and the faithful discharge of their duty is calculated 
to raise them in the estimation of their fellow-citizens. 

" By the company. Our worthy host and hostess : for our excellent 
entertainment receive our warmest thanks." 

"FOURTH OF JULY. 
"JACKSON CELEBRATION. 

"The citizens of Brookville and vicinity friendly to a National 
and State administration celebrated the fifty-eighth anniversary of 
^American independence in a manner creditable to themselves and to the 
party to which they have the honor to belong. The evening immediately 
preceding the Fourth of July preparations were made to raise a liberty 
pole, which had been previously drawn to the place for that purpose (a 
hickory-tree about one hundred feet in length). Our opponents boasted 
through the streets that our force was too weak, and that we would not 
find ten Jackson men in our town to aid in planting our pole. But 
when we made an attempt to rally our force, we soon found forty stern 
Democrats surrounding the tree, and some of them willingly yielded their 
services to guard it until morning, for fear of an attack by the enemy. 

"Our cannon was prepared ; but some person, having no other way 
of giving vent to a confined genius or displaying their cunning, stole it 
from the place where it had been left. A\'e wish it to be understood that 
we do not, neither do we believe it to be the opinion of one of the 

319 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

party, that any of the respectable citizens would be guilty of so mean 
and contemptible an act ; none would condescend to such insignificance. 
We believe the act to be done by some wag, hawbuck, or scullion pos- 
sessing more impudence than brains, willing to be called the ready tool 
of every sycophant who would put themselves on a level with him. 

" The morning of the Fourth every preparation was made, and at one 
o'clock a large and respectable company of ladies and gentlemen as- 
sembled at the court-house at the ringing of the bell, where the Declara- 
tion of Independence was read by L. B. Dunham, Esq., and an excellent 
address delivered by C. G. IM. Prime, Esq., well adapted to the occasion. 

'• After which the company repaired in perfect order to the Franklin 
House, and partook of an excellent dinner, and we are much pleased to 
state that the ladies to a considerable number — we know not exactly how 
many — honored us with their presence, and, to the great gratification of 
the guests and credit of our village, participated in the festival, joined us 
in a glass of wine, etc., after which they were accompanied to their 
respective homes. We must say to the credit of our village that we doubt 
indeed whether we have a precedent in any of the country towns in the 
western part of Pennsylvania. The ladies were dressed rich and ele- 
gant, — in the line of procession from the court-house as well as at the 
dinner-table, presented a most magnificent appearance. We wish our 
readers to rem.ember, when we speak of the manner in which the birthday 
of American Independence was celebrated by the citizens of Brookville, 
that four years ago the place where this town now stands was an entire 
wilderness ; where stately edifices are now erected four years ago was the 
abode of beasts of the forest : the ground where the liberty pole now 
stands was then probably occupied by a howling wolf or panther. Little 
did any who then viewed the site where our flourishing village is situated 
expect four years hence to see the tall pines and scrubby oaks removed, 
and in their stead stately dwellings reared ; little did they expect at this 
time to see a court-house not surpassed in the western country where then 
the prospective eye could only view a doleful-looking forest. However, 
we will not at this time leave the subject which we have commenced to 
portray, the grandeur of our village and its rapid progress. 

"After the ladies had retired the cloth was removed, and the table 
covered with the choicest and best selection of liquors ; the company re- 
assembled and drank their toasts with loud cheers. Every member of 
the celebration displayed great zeal in defending the administration of 
General Andrew Jackson. After the toasts which had been committed to 
paper were passed, a proposition was made that each member should give 
a sentiment extemporaneously, which was complied with by several gen- 
tlemen present, some of which we will cite: 'Hon. John McLean, of 
Ohio, the Devil on two sticks ;' second, ' (xeneral Andrew Jackson : may 
the sons of America appreciate his worth, and never suffer the indepen- 

320 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dence which he aided in achieving to be trampled by the foes of American 
freedom.' Received with cheers and shouts of applause. The company 
were blessed while together with the prevalence of an unanimity of sen- 
timent and identity of feeling ; they joined, as we predicted, like a band 
of brothers cemented together by the fond endearing ties of Jacksonism, 
and celebrated the day without a single occurrence calculated to disturb 
their peace or mar their harmony. They separated in the evening in 
perfect order." — The Jcffersonian, Brookville, Pennsylvania, Thursday, 
July lo, 1S34. George R. Barrett, editor. Mr. Barrett afterwards be- 
came the distinguished Judge Barrett. 

A CALL FOR AND A REPORT OF THE DOINGS, AND AN EDITORIAL 
NOTICE OF AN OLD-TIME POLITICAL FOURTH OF JULY CELE- 
BRATION. 

"JACKSON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN MEETING. 

" A large and respectable meeting of the Democratic Republican cit- 
izens of Brookville and vicinity, friendly to the national and State ad- 
ministration, convened at the house of William Clark, Esq., on Monday, 
the 23d inst., for the purpose of making arrangements preparatory to 
celebrating the approaching anniversary of our National independence. 

" On motion. Colonel William Jack was called to the chair, and J. J. 
Y. Thompson appointed secretary. 

" Whereupon the following persons were chosen a committee of 
arrangements: C. G. M. Prime, J. J. Y. Thompson, A. McKnight, J. 
Beck, and William Rodgers, Esqrs. On motion, 

''Resolved, That C. G. M. Prime, C. J. Dunham, G. R. Barrett, be a 
committee to draft regular toasts suitable to the occasion." 

" FOURTH OF JULY, 

"We, the undersigned, a committee appointed to make arrangements 
for celebrating the anniversary of American independence, beg leave to 
inform their constituents and the public that in pursuance of the duties 
incumbent upon them they have made necessary arrangements for the 
entertainments of that day. A dinner will be prepared at the Frank- 
lin House by Mr. Clark, and an appropriate address delivered in the 
court-house at the hour of twelve o'clock. 

"William Rodgers, 
C. G. M. Prime, 
J. J. Y. Thompson, 
J. Beck, 

Alexander McKnight. 
" Brookville, June 25, 1S34." 
— 77/1? Jeffersonian. 

X2\ 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



IMPROYEMENT MEETING— RESIGNATION OF JUDGE BURNSIDE. 

'' At a meeting of the citizens of Jefferson County, on Thursday after- 
noon of court week, the following proceedings were adopted : 

" On motion, James Clover was called to the chair, and R. A. Ayles- 
worth appointed secretary. 

" On motion, 

"Resolved, That the following persons compose a committee to draft 
resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting, to be reported at an ad- 
journed meeting to be held in the court-house this evening at early can- 
dle-light, — viz. : William Jack, Thomas Hastings, G. R. Barrett, A. 
McKnight, and R. A. Aylesworth. 

^^ Resolved, That James M. Stedman, James Clover, and John Galla- 
gher be a committee to wait on the Hon. Thomas Burnside and General 
William R. Smith, and solicit them to address the meeting this evening. 

" Resolved, That the meeting adjourn to meet this evening at early 
candle-light. 

"adjourned meeting. 

"At an adjourned meeting of the citizens of Jefferson County, held 
at the court-house on Thursday evening of the February court, the fol- 
lowing proceedings were had : 

"On motion, the Hon. Elijah Heath was called to the chair. 

" Thomas Lucas and James H. Bell, Esqs., vice-presidents. 

"James M. Steedman and John Beck, Esqrs., secretaries. 

" When Judge Burnside opened the meeting by reading the part of 
the bill relative to extending the Pennsylvania Canal to the mouth of 
French Creek, by means of canal or railway, and, to the gratification of 
all present, delivered a very elaborate and appropriate address. 

" He was succeeded by General William R. Smith, who addressed the 
meeting with great earnestness in a brief but pithy address, after which 
the committee reported the following resolutions : 

" Resolved, That we view with deep interest the importance of extend- 
ing the West Branch Canal, or slack-water navigation, to the mouth of 
Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County, and from thence a water navi- 
gation, by means of canal or slack-water, along the Sinnamahoning and 
Clarion Rivers, or railway through Jefferson and Armstrong Counties to 
connect the French Creek division of the Pennsylvania Canal. 

"Resolved, That Jefferson County is large in territory and embraces 
a body of land with soil unsurpassed in Pennsylvania, covered with tim- 
ber of the first order, with large bodies of stone coal, salt- wells, and iron 
ore in abundance, and, in fact, everything calculated to advance the 
interest and further the improvement of our county. 

322 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Resolved, That we highly approve of the measures of the canal 
commissioners for the improvement of this our important section of 
the county. 

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting the facilities which 
will be afforded by the contemplated connection of the eastern and 
western waters are too vitally important to be looked over. The trade 
passing east and west by way of this communication will surpass the most 
sanguine expectations of the people. 

'^ Resolved, That if the present contemplated connection is carried 
into effect it will ere long form the most prominent part of our im- 
provement. 

"■ A motion was then made that the meeting adjourn, and the people 
invited to keep their seats to hear the following resolution, which was 
unanimously adopted by the meeting with loud cheers of applause, every 
one responding to the sentiment : 

"■Resolved, That we appreciate the talents, stability, character, and 
public worth of the Hon. Thomas Piurnside, and that the citizens of this 
county and members of the bar sincerely regret his departure as presi- 
dent judge of this district ; that the highest testimonial of respect we are 
able to pay him is the assurance that he carries with him our best wishes 
for his future happiness, and we will ever cherish a grateful remembrance 
of our former acquaintance." 

burnside's response. 

"Gentlemen, — I have this day received the flattering resolution 
passed unanimously by the meeting over which you presided last evening 
at the court-house. 

" I want words to express my thanks and my feelings for this mark 
of respect from the people and the bar of Jefferson County. 

" It is grateful to my heart to have their confidence both in my public 
and private capacity. 

" I bear testimony to the kindness of the people, their regard for the 
law, and their promptness on all occasions to maintain it. It is due to 
the bar to declare my entire approbation of their correct and gentle- 
manly deportment, and I part with them all with feelings of kindness 
and respect. I shall always remember them with the deepest sense of 
gratitude. 

"Accept, gentlemen, my most grateful respects, and permit me to 

tender through you to the people of Jefferson County and the bar my 

unfeigned thanks for the kind and flattering sentiments conveyed in their 

resolution. 

"Thomas Burnside. 

" Directed to the officers of the meeting." 

— The Jeffersonian, February 19, 1835. 

323 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

SHOOTING-STARS IN 1833— A SHOWER OF FIRE— NATURAL 
PHENOMENON. 

" The heavens declare thy glory, O Lord." 

On Wednesday, November 13, 1833, about 5 o'clock a.m., the 
heavens presented a spectacle in this wilderness as has seldom been seen 
in the world. To those who saw it in this county it struck terror to their 
hearts, and many ran away from home to their neighbors, declaring that 
the "day of judgment had arrived." The duration of the display was 
about an hour. One account says, — 

" Yesterday morning, between the hours of five and six o'clock, the 
heavens presented a very unusual and brilliant display of shooting me- 
teors, a more full account of which, I hope, will be furnished by those 
better versed in astography than the writer of this. 

" At one period probably more than one hundred, of various sizes 
and brightness, appeared shooting forth from zenith to the horizon, illumi- 
nating not only the azure vault, already bright and clear with the vast num- 
ber of stars with which it was studded, but actually lighting up our very 
chambers, as if to allure the slothful to a scene very rarely to be wit- 
nessed. They were attended with no noise, at least distinguishable to us, 
but were remarkable for their number, their startling velocity, and bright- 
ness with which they seemed to dart athwart the sky, and the brilliant 
track they left behind. 

"The phenomenon continued until the approach of the sun, when 
the light of the meteors was lost in the near effulgence of his blaze. 

"In a book recently published, called 'The Geography of the 
Heavens, with a Celestial Atlas,' by E. H. Barritt, A.M., pages 104- 
igSj4, an account is given of a scene similar to the above. 

" ' Mr. Andrew Ellicott, who was sent out as our commissioner to fix 
the boundary between the Spanish possessions in North America and the 
United States, witnessed a very extraordinary flight of shooting-stars, 
which filled the whole atmosphere from Cape Florida to the West India 
Islands. This grand phenomenon took place the 12th of November, 
1799, and is thus described: "I was called up," says Mr. Ellicott, 
" about three o'clock in the morning to see the shooting-stars, as they are 
called. The whole heavens appeared as if illuminated with sky-rockets, 
which disappeared only by the light of the sun after daybreak. The 
meteors, which at any one instant of time appeared as numerous as the 
stars, flew in all possible directions, exceijt/;vw the earth, hm'ards which 
they all inclined more or less, and some of them descended perpendicu- 
larly over the vessel we were in, so that I was in constant expectation of 
their falling upon us." ' 

"The notion that this phenomenon betokens high winds is of great 
antiquity, ^'irgil, in the first book of ' (ieorgica,' expresses the same idea: 

324 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" ' And oft, before temptations winds arise. 

The seeming stars fall headlong from the skies, 
And shooting through the darkness, gild the night 
With sleeping glories and long tails of light.' " 

— The Jcffersonian. 



THE PIONEER TEMPERANCE WORK IN JEFFERSON COUNTY— THE 
PIONEER TEMPERANCE WORKERS— ORGANIZATION OF THE JEF- 
FERSON COUNTY TEMPERANCE SOCIETY, AN AUXILIARY TO 
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY— WASHING- 
TONIANS. 

In what year this society was formed and by whom is unknown. I 
find the following call in TJie Jcffersonian, Thursday, April 3, 1S34: 

"TEMPERANCE MEETING. 

"A meeting of the Jefferson County Temperance Society will be 
held in the court-house on Monday evening, the 7th day of April next. 
An address will be delivered by Mr. John Wilson. The ladies and 
gentlemen are invited to attend. 

" J. J. Y. Thompson, 

" Secretary.'" 

A temperance society was formed in Brookville by a small number, 
principally young men, on the evening of the 23d of September, 1S36. 
At this meeting there were only ten names signed to the pledge. The 
following officers were duly chosen, — viz. : President, Andrew C. Hall; 
A'ice-Presidents, Samuel Craig, William A. Sloan ; Recording Secretary, 
James M. Craig ; Corresponding Secretary, James McCrackin ; Treasurer, 
James Park ; Managers, Thomas McGinty, Thomas Isl. Barr, John Shrenk. 

The pledge was at first " only to abstain from ardent spirits ;" but on 
the 2d of January, 1837, after several meetings held in the school-house, 
it was changed '' to that of total abstinence." The secretaries, in a re- 
port to the society, on the evening of March 6, 1S36, say since the organ- 
ization of the society seven meetings have been held, at which the names 
q{ forfv-one persons, at different times, have been added. 

*' The secretaries feel that they, in common with all other members of 
this society, owe a tribute to the ladies of Brookville and vicinity, no less 
than nineteen of whom have nobly come out and attached their names 
to the pledge." Rev. Hallock, Rev. Barris, Thomas Lucas, and other 
speakers addressed the monthly meetings. 

This society was the only one organized body in the temperance work 
in the county until 1842, when the Washingtonians organized their socie- 
ties. Colonel Hugh Brady, S. B. Bishop, Esq., and others led this 
movement. 

325 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSOX COUNTY. FENNA. 

CONTINUOUS WATER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE EASTERN 
AND WESTERN WATERS. 

"To carry out successfully the gigantic project of uniting the great 
eastern with the great western waters was supposed to require an amount 
of capital and of credit beyond the control of any joint-stock company, 
and the pre eminent power and credit of the State herself was enlisted in 
the enterprise. Unfortunately, to do this required legislative votes, and 
these votes were not to be had without extending the ramifications of the 
svstem throughout all the counties whose patronage was necessary to carry 
the measure. In March, 1S24, commissioners were appointed to explore 
a route for a canal from Harrisburg to Pittsburg by the way of the Juniata 
and Conemaugh, and by the way of the ^Vest Branch of the Susquehanna, 
Sinnemahoning, and the Allegheny, and also between the head-waters of 
the Schuylkill, by Mahanoy Creek, to the Susquehanna, with other pro- 
jects. In 1S25 canal commissioners were appointed to explore a number 
of routes in various directions through the State. In August, 1S25. a 
convention of the friends of internal improvement, consisting of delegates 
from forty-six counties, met at Harrisburg, and passed resolutions in 
favor of ' opening an entire and complete communication from the Sus- 
quehanna to the Allegheny and Ohio, and from the Allegheny to Lake 
Erie, by the nearest and best practicable route.' The starting impulse 
being thus given, the great enterprise moved on, increasing in strength 
and magnitude as each successive Legislature convened ; and the citizens 
of every section were highly excited, not to say intoxicated, with local 
schemes of internal improvement. Contemporaneously with these enter- 
prises, anthracite coal began to be successfully introduced for family use ; 
and, besides, the discovery of vast and rich deposits of this mineral, 
almost exclusively in Pennsylvania, the circumstance was an additional 
reason for the construction of improvements. Iron-mines and salt-wells 
were also opened, stimulated by the high tariff of 1S28, and the rich bitu- 
minous coal-fields west of the Allegheny invited enterprise and specula- 
tion to that quarter. To describe the various public works that grew out 
of the powerful impulse given from 1826 to 1S36 would require itself a 
small volume. Suffice it to say that in October, 1S54. the Philadelphia 
and Columbia Railroad was opened for travelling. The main line of 
canal had been preuously completed, and in the same month, on the 
completion of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, an emigrant's boat, from 
the North Branch of the Susquehanna, actually passed over the Allegheny 
Mountains, with all its family on board, and being launched into the 
canal at Johnstown, proceeded on its route to St. Louis!" — Day's 
Recollections. 

•'Yesterday the report of B. Aycrigg. Esq., the engineer employed 
by the State to examine and report on the practicability of a continuous 

.^26 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

water communication between the Susquehanna and Allegheny Rivers, 
was received, accompanied by his estimate of the expense. The House 
ordered two thousand copies to be printed. 

" The canal will be 129 miles long, and is estimated to cost 53,767,377 : 
add five per cent., §188,368 ; making a total of 53,955,745- 

" Mr. Aycrigg remarks that the estimate is not of the probable, but 
of the greatest expense, and that he believes if the work be properly con- 
structed a considerable surplus will be left. 

"The tunnel, according to his estimate, will cost two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars, and will take two years longer to make than the 
other parts of the canal. He therefore recommends an immediate appro- 
priation to that part of the work, including the heavy embankments 
forming the reservoir. 

" ^Ve think this is the most important State object that can occupy 
the attention of the Commonwealth. It will open an avenue by water to 
Philadelphia, not only for the commerce of the Ohio, but the commerce 
of the Great Lakes. It will do away with the necessity of a transship- 
ment over the mountains, and it will crown our canals, so as in a short 
time to require double locks, and not only contribute to our commercial 
prosperity, but enrich the treasury of the Commonwealth. The Legisla- 
ture, then, ought not a moment to delay its action. If any improvement 
is to be delayed, let it be some of the almost useless ones that have re- 
ceived the favor of the Committee on Internal Improvements, as will be 
seen by a reference to the appropriation bill now on the files of the 
House." — Pennsylvania Intelligencer, March 9, 1837. 

" We are pleased to learn by our Harrisburg papers that Mr. Aycrigg 
— the engineer who was engaged last summer in exploring the country 
between the waters of the Susquehanna and Allegheny Rivers — made his 
report to the Legislature on Thursday morning last, the 15th. AVhat 
will be most gratifying to the citizens of this section of country is the 
fact that the report is favorable to the Red Bank route. The Pennsylva- 
nia Intelligencer says, ' ^^'e have taken the trouble to read his report in 
manuscript, and are pleased with the valuable information it contains. 
He has found a route by the way of Anderson's Creek, which empties 
into the West Branch, and Red Bank, which empties into the Allegheny, 
where a water communication can be made. He recommends a reservoir 
on the summit. By constructing a mound 40 feet high, across the valley 
of Sandy Lick Creek, three eighths of a mile in length, a reservoir of 3 
square miles can be made, which will contain 1,672,704,000 cubic feet 
of water, and that water can be supplied there during 240 days to pass 
115,600 boats. The lockage is 693 feet, — by 83 locks westward to the 
Allegheny River at the mouth of Red Bank, and by 99 locks eastward to 
the mouth of the Sinnamahoning. The whole distance from the mouth 
of the Sinnamahoning to the mouth of Red Bank is 128^4^ miles.' 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"It may be remembered that we during the course of the past 
season took occasion to remark that it was our opinion, and we thought 
well founded, too, that Mr. Aycrigg would report in favor of this route. 
Though we do not pretend to the spirit of prophecy, yet we felt certain 
that our prediction would, as it did, prove true. But a word with regard 
to the great advantages that will arise to this county. Perhaps no docu- 
ment ever issued from the press is of more vital importance to our citizens 
than the report in question. It involves the interests of the farmer and 
mechanic, and deeply interests the merchant and tradingman. Our un- 
improved lands must immediately rise in value ; our timber will prove a 
source of wealth, and for years an almost inexhaustible quantity of it will 
be found ; our bituminous coal, iron ore, and other minerals make the 
prospects of our county equally flattering, should this contemplated im- 
provement be completed, with any other in Western Pennsylvania." — 
The Jeffersonian, December 22, 1836. 

It is needless to say this great enterprise was never consummated. 

PIONEER COUNTY BRIDGE ACROSS RED BANK. 

"Petition for a bridge across Red Bank Creek at Brookville. Re- 
corded on Road Docket, January ig, 1836. 

" Thomas Hastings, Clerk. 

" To THE Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of 
Jefferson now holding a Court of Quarter Sessions of the 
Peace in and for said County : 

" The petition of the subscribers, inhabitaffts of the township of Rose 
in said county, respectfully represent that a bridge is much wanted over 
Red Bank Creek at the place where the public highway from the borough 
of Brookville to Indiana crosses the said creek in the township of Rose 
in said county, and that the erection of said bridge will require more 
expense than it is reasonable the said township should bear. 

" Your petitioners therefore pray the Court to appoint proper persons 
to view the premises, and to take such order on the subject as is required 
and directed by the act of Assembly in such case made and provided. 
And they will ever pray, etc. 

"John J. Y. Thompson, Charles C. Gaskill, John Beck, 'W'm. Corden, 
John Rhoads, James Shields, ^^'m. Thompson, Joseph Alagiffin, Robt. 
Andrews, AVm. B. Kennedy, Robert Morrison, Jacob Milliron, Sheridan 
McCullough, John Love, William Steele, John Jones, John McAninch, 

James Clover, Henry Smith, John Brownlee, Jacob ^I. , Isaac 

Hallon, John Rine, Peter (rroff, Philip lUirns, ^\'m. Clark, Robert V.. 
Kennedy, Lewis Sharer, John Wilson, Thos.. Lucas, Thomas Witherow, 
Robert Witherow, P'rederick Heterick, Joseph' Hughes, Isaac Covert, 
Joseph Hall, Ramsey Potter, \W\\. Kennedy, Thomas Hastings, John A. 

;.2S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Matthews, D. M. Riddle, Paul Vandevort, John Smith, Miran Gibbs, 
Jacob Mason, Cyrus Blood, James M. Craig, George Darling, James 
Fullerton, James Henry, Wm. Rodgers, Christopher Barr, William Fer- 
guson, Joseph Sharpe, John Christy." 

This pioneer county covered bridge was a wooden one, made of pine 
timber. It was erected across Red Bank Creek in the borough of Brook- 
ville, a few feet west of where the present iron structure on Pickering 
Street now stands. There were no iron nails used in its construction, 
and only a few liandmade iron spikes. The timbers were mortised and 
tenoned, and put together with wooden pins. This was a single span 
bridge of one hundred and twenty feet in length, with no centre pier, 
and of the burr truss plan. It had two strings of circle arches, resting 
on the stone abutments. I find the following official records in the court 
dockets : 

"At the February session of court, February 13, 1836, 'upon the 
petition to the honorable judges of said court of many inhabitants of 
Jefferson County, setting forth that they labor under great inconvenience 
for want of a bridge across Red Bank Creek, where the Hamilton road 
enters Pickering Street in the borough of Brookville, asking the Court to 
appoint viewers, whereupon the Court appointed the following-named 
persons to view the road and make a report to the Court, — viz. : John 
Dougherty, John Matson, Sr., James K. Huffman, Daniel Coder, Robert 
Morrison, and John Philliber. ' " These view^ers made their report to the 
Court May 10, 1836, "that the bridge was indisputably necessary." 

At the September session, 1836, the Court approved this report and 
ordered the county to pay four hundred dollars to the construction of the 
bridge. 

The following official advertisement for bids 1 copy from the Brook- 
ville Jejfersonia 11 for 1 8 36 : 

" NOTICE. 

"The building of a bridge across Red Bank Creek, on Pickering 
Street, will be sold to the lowest bidder on Thursday, the 15th day of 
September next, at i o'clock p.m. 

"A plan of said bridge will be shown at the commissioners' office, 
on Monday, 12. Sufficient security will be requested of the undertaker 
for the faithful performance. 

" By order of the commissioners. 

"John Wilson, Clerk. 

" Commissioners' Office, Brookville, November 24, 1836." 

The bridge was let by the commissioners December 15, 1S36, to 
Messrs. Thomas Hall and Richard Arthurs, contractors. The contract 
called for the completion of the bridge by September, 1837. The ac- 
22 329 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

cepted contract bid was seven hundred and ninety-five dollars. When 
finished the bridge was a good solid structure, but was a curious pile of 
wood and stones. 

Many memories to the old citizen clustered around this bridge, but 
time has effaced the bridge and will efface the memories. On its planks 
generations have met, passed, and repassed, and from its stringers fishers 
dropped many a hook and line. Up to and later than 1843, Brookville 
had three natatoriums, or swimming-pools, — viz., one at the head of 
what is now Heidrick, Coleman iv Co.'s dam on the North Fork, one at 
the " Deep Hole" near the Sand Spring, on the Sandy Lick, and one at 
or underneath the covered bridge on Red Bank. In those days, from 
the time we had May flowers until the chilling blasts of November ar- 
rived, one of the principal sports of the men and boys was swimming 
in these "pools." We boys, in summer months, all day long played on 
the bosom of these waters or on the border-land. The busy men, the 
doctor, the statesman, the lawyer, the parson, the merchant, the farmer, 
the mechanic, and the day laborer, all met here in the summer eve with 
boisterous shouts of joy and mirth to welcome up the moon. Of course, 
we had some skilful plungers and swimmers, who were as much at home 
in these waters as the wild ducks and geese of that day. An artist 
could swim on his back, on either side, under the water, float on his 
back, tread or walk in the water, and plunge or dive from almost any 
height. The beginner or boy, though, always commenced his apprentice- 
ship in this graceful profession by swimming with his breast on a piece of 
plank, board, or old slab. But alas to the pioneer, — 

" Swimming sports, once deemed attractive, 
Haunts amidst the bloom of laurel flowers, 

Radiant charms that pleased my senses 
In my boyhood's sunny hours, 

Have departed like illusions, 
And will never more be ours." 



POPULATION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Counties. Year 1840. 

Adams 23,044 

Allegheny 81. -35 

Armstrong 28,365 

Beaver 29,368 

Bedford 29,335 

Berks 64,569 

Bradford 32,769 

Bucks 48,107 

Butler 22,378 

Cambria 11,256 

Centre 20,492 

Chester 57-5^5 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Counties. Year 1840. 

Clarion 9, 500 

Cleai-field 7,834 

Clinton 8,323 

Columbia 24,267 

Crawford 31.724 

Cumberland 30.953 

Dauphin 30.118 

Delaware I9.79I 

Erie • 3.412 

Fayette 33.574 

Franklin 37.793 

Greene ^9.147 

Huntingdon i 35,484 

Indiana 20,782 

Jefferson 7,253 

Juniata 11,080 

Lancaster 84,203 

Lebanon 21,872 

Lehigh 25.787 

Luzerne 35.9*^6 

Lycoming 22,649 

McKean 2,975 

Mercer 32,873 

Mifflin 13,092 

Monroe 9,879 

Montgomery 47.241 

Northampton 40,996 

Northumljcrland 20,027 

Perry 17,096 

Philadelphia 258,037 

Pike 3,832 

Potter 3,371 

Schuylkill 29,053 

Somerset 19,650 

Susquehanna 21,195 

Tioga 15.498 

Union 22,787 

Venango 17.900 

Warren 9.278 

Washington 41,279 

Wayne 11,848 

Westmoreland 42,699 

Wyoming 8,100 

York 47,010 



1,705,601 



Jefterson County was not organized in 1S30, and the census was not 
reported, only as a whole. Males in county, 1065 ; females, 940; total, 
2005. 

331 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



PIONEER AND EARLY COUNTIES, DATE OF FORMATION, AND 
NUMBER OF ACRES IN EACH. 



Name. 



Date of Formation. 



Philadelphia 
Chester . . 
Bucks . . 
Lancaster . 
York . . . 
Cumberland 
Berks . ■ 



Northampton . 
Bedford . . . 
Northumberland 



Westmoreland . 



Washington 
Fayette . . 
Franklin . 
Montgomery 
Dauphin . 
Luzerne 
Huntingdon 
Allegheny . 

Mifflin . . 

Delaware . 
Somerset . 
Greene . . 
Wayne . . 
Lycoming . 
Adams . . 
Centre . . 



Armstrong 



Beaver . 

Butler . 
Crawford 
Erie . . 
Mercer , 
Venango 



Warren . 

Indiana 

McKean 



March lo, 

" lO, 
" lo, 
May lo, 
Aug. 19, 
Jan. 27, 
March li. 



III 

9, 

27, 



1682 
1682 
16S2 
1729 

1749 
1750 
1752 



1752 
1771 
1772 



One of Penn's original counties . 



From a part 



Feb. 26, 1773 



March 28, 
Sept. 26, 

9. 

" 10, 

March 4, 

Sept. 25, 

" 20, 

24, 



17S1 
17S3 
1 7 84 
17S4 

1785 
17S2 
1787 
1788 



19, 1789 



26, 
April 17, 
Feb. 9, 
March 26, 
April 13, 
Jan. 22, 
Feb. 13, 



1789 

1795 
1796 
1796 
1796 
1800 
iSoo 



]\Iarch 12, iSoo 



12, iSoo 



12, 


1800 


12, 


1800 


12, 


1800 


12, 


iSoo 


I3> 


1800 


12, 


1800 


30, 


1S03 


20, 


1S04 



jf Chester 

Lancaster .... 

Lancaster .... 
Philadelphia, Ches- 
ter, and Lancas- 
ter 

Bucks 

Cumberland . . . 
Cumberland, Berks, 
Bedford, and 

Northampton . . 
Bedford, and in 1785 
part of the Indian 
purchase of 1 784 
was added . . 

Westmoreland . 

Westmoreland , 

Cumberland . . 
Philadelphia . , 

Lancaster . . . 

Northumberland 

Bedford .... 

Westmoreland and 
Washington . . 

Cumberland and 
Northumberland 

Chester 

Bedford 

Washington . . . 

Northampton . . . 

Northumberland . 

York 

Mifflin, Northum- 
berland, Lyco- 
ming, and Hunt- 
ingdon 

Allegheny, 
moreland, 
Lycoming . 

Allegheny 

Washington . . 

Allegheny . . . . 

Allegheny . . . . 

Allegheny . . . . 

Allegheny . . . . 

Allegheny and Ly- 
coming . . . . 

Allegheny and Ly- 
coming .... 

Westmoreland and 
Lycoming . . . 

Lycoming . . . . 



West- 
and 

and 



80,840 
472,320 
387,200 
608,000 
576,000 
348,160 



588,800 
240,000 
636,160 



292,480 



672,000 
573-440 
527,360 
480,000 
303,080 
357.760 
896,000 
537>6oo 

482,560 

286,800 
113,280 
682,240 
389,120 
460,800 
691,200 
337,920 



6SS,ooo 

408,960 

298,240 
502,400 
629,760 
480,000 
416,000 

330,240 

551.040 

492,800 
716,800 



332 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

PIONEER AND EARLY COUNTIES, DATE OF FORMATION, AND 
NUMBER OF ACRES IN Y^KCH.— Continued. 



No. 


Name. 


Date of Formation. 




Acres. 


38 


Clearfield . . . 


March 


26, 


1S04 


From a part of Lycoming and 
Northumberland 


761,600 


39 


Jefferson . . . 


" 


26, 


1804 


" " Lycoming .... 


412,800 


40 


Potter .... 


" 


26, 


1S04 


" " Lycoming .... 


384,000 


41 


Cambria . . . 




26, 


1S04 


" " Huntingdon, Som- 
erset, and Bedford 


428,800 


42 


Tioga .... 


" 


26, 


1804 


" " Lycoming .... 


714,240 


43 


Bradford * . . 


Feb. 


21, 


1810 


" " Luzerne and Ly- 
coming .... 


751,300 


44 


Susquehanna . 


" 


21, 


1810 


" " Luzerne 


510,080 


45 


Schuylkill . . . 


March 


I, 


iSii 


" " Berks and North- 
ampton .... 


485,400 


46 


Lehigh .... 


" 


6, 


I8I2 


" " Northampton . . . 


232,960 


47 


Lebanon . . . 


Feb. 


16, 


ISI3 


" " Dauphin and Lan- 
caster 


195,840 


48 


Columbia . . . 


March 


22, 


ISI3 


" " Northumberland . 


275,840 


49 


Union .... 


" 


22, 


ISI3 


" " Northumberland . 


165,120 


50 


Pike 


" 


26, 


ISI4 


" " ^Vayne 


384,000 


51 


Perry 


" 


22, 


1820 


" " Cumberland . . . 


344,960 


52 


Juniata .... 


" 


2, 


I83I 


MifHin 


224,640 


53 


Monroe .... 


April 


I, 


IS36 


" " Northampton and 
Pike 


384,000 


54 


Clarion .... 


March 


II, 


1839 


" " Venango and Arm- 
strong 


384,000 


55 


Clinton .... 


June 


21, 


1839 


" " Lycoming and Cen- 
tre 


591-360 


56 


Wyoming . . . 


April 


4, 


1842 


" " Northumberland 

and Luzerne . . 


261,760 


57 


Carbon .... 


March 


13. 


IS43 


" " Northampton and 
Monroe .... 


256,000 


58 


Elk 


April 


iS, 


1843 


" " Jefferson, Clearfield, 
and McKean . . 


446,720 



* Previous to March 24, 1S12, this county was called Ontarii: 



2>2>2> 



PIONEER HISTORY OF lEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PIONEER SETTLEMENT OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA PIONEER PENNSYL- 
VANIA INDIAN TRADERS — THE PIONEER ROAD BY WAY OF THE SOUTH 
BRANCH OF THE POTOMAC AND THE VALLEY OF THE KISKIMINITAS — THE 
PIONEER ROAD FROM EAST TO WEST, FROM RAYSTOWN, NOW BEDFORD, 
TO FORT DUQUESNE, NOW PITTSBURG, A MILITARY NECESSITY GEN- 
ERAL JOHN FORBES OPENS IT IN THE SUMMER AND FALL OF 175S — 
COLONEL GEORGE WASHINGTON OPPOSED TO THE NEW ROAD AND IN 

FAVOR OF THE POTOMAC ROAD DEATH OF GENERAL JOHN FORBES 

PIONEER MAIL-COACHES, MAIL-ROUTES, AND POST-OFFICES. 

"Western Pennsylvania was untrodden by the foot of the white 
man before the year 1700. As early as 1715 and 1720 occasionally a 
trader would venture west of the Allegheny Mountain, and of these the 
first was James Le Tort, who resided in 1700 east of the Susquehanna, 
but took up his residence west of it, Le Tort Spring, Carlisle, in 1720. 
Peter Cheaver, John Evans, Henry DeVoy, Owen Nicholson, Alexander 
Magenty, Patrick Burns, George Hutchison, all of Cumberland County; 
^arnaby Currin, John McGuire, a Mr. Frazier, the latter of whom had 
at an early day a trading-house at Venango, but afterwards at the Mo- 
nongahela, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, were all traders among the 
Indians. But no attempt had been made by the whites at settlements in 
the region now occupied by the several counties west of the Alleghenies 
before 1748, when the Ohio Company was formed. This company sent 
out the undaunted Christopher Gist, in 1750, to explore the country and 
make report. He, it is said, explored the country ' from the South 
Branch of the Potomac northward to the heads of the Juniata River, 
crossed the mountains, and reached the Allegheny by the valley of Kis- 
kiminitas. He crossed the Allegheny about four miles above the forks, 
where Pittsburg now stands, thence went down the Ohio to some point 
below Beaver River, and thence over to the Muskingum valley.' The 
first actual settlement made was within the present limits of Fayette 
County, in 1752, by Mr. Gist himself, on a tract of land, now well known 
there as Mount Braddock, west of the Youghiogheny River. Mr. Gist 
induced eleven families to settle around him on lands presumed to be 
within the Ohio Company's grant. 

" The more southern part of Western Pennsylvania (Greene, Wash- 
ington, Fayette, and part of Somerset), which was supposed to be within 
the boundaries of Virginia, was visited by adventurers from Maryland 

334 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

prior to 1754. Among these were Wendel Brown and his two sons 
and Frederick ^Valtzer, who lived four miles west of Uniontown. David 
Tygart had settled in the valley which still bears his name in Northwest- 
ern Virginia ; several other families came here a few years afterwards. 
These were the only settlements attempted prior to Braddock's defeat, 
and those made immediately afterwards, or prior to 1760, were repeatedly 
molested, families murdered, cabins burnt, and, for a time, broken up, 
alternately abandoned and again occupied. 

" The treaty of 1762 brought quiet and repose to some extent to the 
English colonies, and the first settlers on the frontiers returned to their 
abandoned farms, but they were soon again obliged to leave their homes 
and retire for safety to the more densely settled parts. Bouquet prosecuted 
his campaign with success against the Indians, and in November, 1764, 
compelled the turbulent and restless Kyashuta to sue for peace and bury 
the hatchet on the plains of Muskingum, and finally humbled the Delawares 
and Shawanese. Soon after the refugee settlers returned to their cabins 
and clearings, resumed their labors, extended their improvements, and 
cultivated their lands. From this time forth the prosperity of Pennsyl- 
vania increased rapidly, and the tide of immigration with consec}uent 
settlements rolled westward, though the pioneer settlers were afterwards 
greatly exposed. 

" Previous to 1758, Westmoreland was a wilderness trodden by the 
wild beast, the savage, and, like other portions of Western Pennsylvania, 
by an occasional white trader or frontiersman. No settlements were 
attempted prior to this date, when Fort Duquesne, afterwards Fort Pitt, 
was abandoned by the French, became an English military post, and 
formed a nucleus for an Flnglish settlement, and two years afterwards 
(1760) a small town was built near Fort Pitt, which contained nearly two 
hundred souls, but on the breaking out of the Indian war, in 1763, the 
inhabitants retired into the fort, and their dwellings were suffered to fall 
into decay. In 1 765, Pittsburg was laid out." — History of Western Penn- 
syk'ania. 

This southern exploration was through what is now Somerset, Fayette, 
Westmoreland, and Allegheny Counties. In 1754, I>ieutenant-Colonel 
(reorge Washington, then twenty-one years old, penetrated this wilder- 
ness and improved this road. In 1755, General Braddock, accompanied 
by Washington, marched his army over this road. Hence the road has 
always been called Braddock's road. 

The pioneer road from east to west was opened up in September, 
1758, by General John Forbes. He commanded an army of about eight 
thousand men. ( General Forbes marched in the spring from Philadelphia 
with his troops to Raystown (now P)edford), but on account of the small- 
pox in his army he was detained at Carlisle, and failed to reach what is 
now Bedford until the middle of September. At a consultation of his 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

officers at this point it was decided to cut out a new road over the 
mountains from Kaystown to Loyalhanna, now in Westmoreland County, 
a distance of forty-five miles. 

This new road passed through what is now Bedford, Somerset, and 
Westmoreland Counties. Colonel Bouquet, with twenty-five hundred 
men, cut out the road in September and October of that year. 

Colonel Washington was at this consultation, and was opposed to the 
new road. Washington's arguments in favor of the southern route were 
as follows : 

" Camp at Fort Cumberland, August 2, 1758. 

"Sir, — The matters of which we spoke relative to the roads have, 
since our parting, been the subject of my closest reflection, and so far 
am I from altering my opinion that the more time and attention I bestow 
the more I am confirmed in it, and the reasons for taking Braddock's 
road appear in a stronger point of view. To enumerate the whole of 
these reasons would be tedious, and to you, who are become so much 
master of the subject, unnecessary. I shall, therefore, briefly mention a 
few only, which I think so obvious in themselves, that they must effect- 
ually remove objections. 

" Several years ago the Virginians and Pennsylvanians commenced a 
trade with the Indians settled on the Ohio, and, to obviate the many in- 
conveniences of a bad road, they, after reiterated and ineffectual efforts 
to discover where a good one might be made, employed for the purpose 
several of the most intelligent Indians, who, in the course of many years' 
hunting, had acquired a perfect knowledge on these mountains. The 
Indians, having taken the greatest pains to gain the rewards offered for 
this discovery, declared that the path leading from Will's Creek was in- 
finitely preferable to any that could be made at any other place. Time 
and experience so clearly demonstrated this truth that the Pennsylvania 
traders commonly carried out their goods by Will's Creek. Therefore 
the Ohio Company, in 1753, at a considerable expense, opened the road. 
In 1754 the troops whom I had the honor to command greatly repaired 
it, as far as Gist's plantation, and in 1755 it was widened and completed 
by General Braddock to within six miles of Fort Duquesne. A road that 
has so long been opened and so well and so often repaired must be much 
firmer and better than a new one, allowing the ground to be equally 
good. 

" P>ut supposing it were practicable to make a road from Raystown 
quite as good as General I5raddock's, I ask, have we time to do it ? Cer- 
tainly not. To surmount the difficulties to be encountered in making it 
over such mountains, covered with woods and rocks, would require so 
much time as to blast our otherwise well-grounded hopes of striking the 
important stroke this season. 

336 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The favorable accounts that some give of the forage on the Rays- 
town road, as being so much better than that on the other, are certainly 
exaggerated. It is well known that on both routes the rich valleys be- 
tween the mountains abound with good forage, and that those which are 
stony and bushy are destitute of it. Colonel Byrd and the engineer who 
accompanied him confirm this fact. Surely the meadows on Braddock's 
road would greatly overbalance the advantage of having grass to the foot 
of the ridge, on the Raystown road ; and all agree that a more barren 
road is nowhere to be found than that from Raystown to the inhabitants, 
which is likewise to be considered. 

"Another principal objection made to General Braddock's road is in 
regard to the waters. P5ut these seldom swell so much as to obstruct the 
passage. The Youghiogheny River, which is the most rapid and soonest 
filled, I have crossed with a body of troops after more than thirty days 
almost continued rain. In fine, any difficulties on this score are so 
trivial that they really are not worth mentioning. The Monongahela, 
the largest of all these rivers, may, if necessary, easily be avoided, as 
Mr. Frazier, the principal guide, informs me, by passing a defile, and 
even that, he says, may be shunned. 

"Again, it is said there are many defiles on this road. I grant that 
there are some, but I know of none that may not be traversed, and I 
should be glad to be informed where a road can be had over these moun- 
tains not subject to the same inconvenience. The shortness of the dis- 
tance between Raystown and Loyal Hanna is used as an argument against 
this road, which bears in it something unaccountable to me, for I must 
beg leave to ask whether it requires more time or is more difficult and 
expensive to go one hundred and forty-five miles on a good road already 
made to our hands than to cut one hundred miles anew, and a great part 
of the way over impassable mountains. 

" That the old road is many miles nearer Winchester in Virginia and 
Fort Frederick in Maryland than the contemplated one is incontestable, 
and I will here show the distance from Carlisle by the two routes, fixing 
the different stages, some of which I have from information only, but 
others I believe to be exact. 

FROM CARLISLE TO FORT DUQUESNE BY W.W OF RAYSTOWN. 

Miles. 
From Carlisle to Shippensburg ... 21 

" Shippensburg to Fort Loudon 24 

" Fort Loudon to Fort Littleton 20 

" Littleton to Juniata Crossing 14 

" Juniata Crossing to Raystown 14 

93 
" Raystown to Fort Duquesne 100 

193 

337 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

FROM CARLISLE TO FORT DUCJUESXE BY WAV OF FORT FREDERIC AND CUM- 
BERLAND. 

Miles. 

From Carlisle to Shippensburg 2i 

" Shippensburg to Chamber's 12 

" Chamber's to Pacelin's 12 

'• Pacelin to Fort Frederic 12 

" Fort Frederic to Fort Cumberland 40 

97 
" Fort Cumlierland to Fort Duquesne 115 

212 

" From this computation there appears to be a difference of nineteen 
miles only. Were all the supplies necessarily to come from Carlisle, it is 
well known that the goodness of the old road is a sufficient compensation 
for the shortness of the other, as the wrecked and broken wagons there 
clearly demonstrate. " — Tlie Olden Time, vol. i. 

For many years all government supplies for western forts, groceries, 
salt, and goods of every kind, were carried from the east on pack-horses 
over this Forbes road. One man would sometimes have under his con- 
trol from fifty to one hundred pack-horses. A panel pack-saddle was 
on each horse, and the load for a horse was about two hundred pounds. 
Forts were established along the line of the road, and guards from the 
militia accompanied these horse-trains, guarding them by night in their 
'^ encampments" and protecting them by day through and over the 
mountains. 

This Braddock road and Raystown road were nothing more than 
trails or military roads, and it was not until 17S4 or 1785 that the State 
opened a road from the east to the west over Forbes's military trail. 

General John Forbes died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 15th 
of March, 1759. 

One hundred years ago this pioneer road was crowded by carriers with 
their pack-horses going westward, laden with people, salt, iron, and 
merchandise. 

" The pack-horses then travelled in divisions of twelve or fifteen, going 
single-file, each horse carrying about two hundred-weight ; one man pre- 
ceded and one brought up the rear of the file. Later on the carriers, to 
their bitter indignation, were supplanted by the Conestoga wagons, with 
their proud six-horse teams, with huge belled collars, the wagon stored 
with groceries, linens, calico, rum, molasses, and hams, four to five tons 
of load ; by law none of these wagons had less than four inch tires on its 
wheels. ' ' 

From 17S4 to 1S34 was the stagecoach era in this country. In the 
year 1S02 the government started a line of coaches between Pniladelphia 

33S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and New York, carrying their own mail. This was continued for three 
years, clearing an average profit yearly of four thousand dollars. In 1834 
the postmaster-general and the government preferred railroad transporta- 
tion where it could be had. The government required from the railroads 
a schedule time of thirteen miles an hour for the mails. I give as near 
as I can learn the pioneer individual stage-coach mail lines. 

PIONEER MAIL-COACHES EAST AND WEST, AND TO CROSS THE 
ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS. 

"PHILADELPHIA AND PITTSBURGH MAIL STAGES. 

"A line of stages being established and now in operation to and 
from each of the above places. This line will start from John Tomlin- 
son's. Market-street, Philadelphia, every Friday morning, via Harris- 
burgh and Chambersburgh, to Pittsburgh, and perform the trip in 7 days. 
It will also start from Thomas Ferree's the Fountain Inn, Water-street, 
Pittsburgh, every Wednesday morning, same rout to Philadelphia, and 
perform the trip in 7 days ; Fare — Passengers 20 dollars and 20 lb. bag- 
gage free ; all extra baggage or packages, if of dimentions such as to be 
admitted for transportation by this line, to pay 12 dollars per 100 lb. 
the baggage or the packages to be at the owner's own proper risque unless 
especially receipted for by one of the proprietors, which cannot be done 
if the owner is a passenger in the stage, same trip. These stages are 
constructed to carry three passengers on a seat, and more never shall be 
admitted. 

"This line will also leave John Tomlinson's as above every Tuesday 
morning for Chambersburgh, making the trip in 2)2 days, and leave 
Mr. Hetrick's tavern in Chambersburgh, every Wednesday at noon, for 
Philadelphia, and make the trip in 2].2 days; fare 9 dollars and 50 cents, 
under the same regulations as above. 

"The public will perceive by this establishment, that they have a 
direct conveyance from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh once a week, and 
from Philadelphia and Chambersburgh twice a week. 

"The proprietors being determined that their conduct shall be such 
as to merit support in their line. 

"John Tomlixson & Co. 

" J"b' y^i 1S04." 

"PHILADELPHIA AND PITTSBURCIH MAIL STAGES. 

" Tlic Proprietors 
"With pleasure now inform the public that they run their line of 
stages twice in the week to and from the above places. 

"They leave John Tomlinson's Spread Eagle, INIarket-street, Phila- 
delphia, every Tuesday and Friday morning, at 4 o'clock, and Thomas 

339 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Ferry's Fountain Inn, Water-street, Pittsburgh, every Wednesday and 
Saturday morning, perform the trip in seven days. Fare each passenger 
20 dollars; 14 lbs. of baggage free; extra baggage to pay i2i< cents per 
lb. This line runs through Lancaster, Elizabeth Town, Middle Town, 
Harrisburgh, Carlisle, Shippensburgh, Chambersburgh, McConnell's- 
town, Bedford, Sommerset, Greensburgh, &c. 

"As usual they continue to run their line of Stages in conjunction 
with Mr. Scott, from Philadelphia, to the City of Washington, via Lan- 
caster, Columbia, York, Hanover, Petersburgh, Frederick Town, ^;c. 
three times a week. Summer establishment, and twice a week in winter. 
Also their daily Stages from Philadelphia and Lancaster continue, as 
heretofore. All baggage transported by any of the above lines of Stages 
is to be and remain at the risque of the owner. The Proprietors of the 
above lines respectfully thank the public for their past favours : Would 
be glad they would increase them ; and they will pledge themselves, 
neither expence in reason, or attention, shall not be wanting on their 
part to make their several lines respectable. 

" John Tomlinson & Co. 

" Nov. 9th, 1804.'' 

PIONEER MAIL-ROUTES AND POST-OFFICES— EARLY MAIL-ROUTES 
AND POST-OFFICES— TRANSMISSION OF MONEY THROUGH MAILS 
AND OTHERWISE. 

The pioneer post-office w^as established in this State under an act of 
Assembly, November 27, 1700, — viz.: 

".■\x Act for erecting and estaijlishing a Post Office. 

" WJicreas, The King and the late Queen Mary, by their royal letters 
patent under the great seal of England, bearing date the seventeenth of 
February, which was in the year one thousand and six hundred and ninety- 
and-one, did grant to Thomas Neal, Esquire, his executors, administrators 
and assigns, full power and authority to erect, settle and establish within 
the King's colonies and plantations in America, one or more office or 
offices for receiving and dispatching of letters and packets by post, and 
to receive, send and deliver the same, under such rates and sums of money 
as shall be agreeable to the rates established by act of parliament in faig- 
land, or as the planters and others should agree to give on the first settle- 
ment, to have, hold and enjoy the same for a term of twenty-one years, 
with and under such powers, limitations and conditions as in and by the 
said letters patent may more fully ai)pear ; 

^^ And whereas, The King's Postmaster (ieneral of England, at the 
request, desire and nomination of the said Thomas Neale, hath deputed 
Andrew Hamilton, I-^squire, for such time and under such conditions as 
in his deputation is for that purpose mentioned, to govern and manage the 

340 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

said General Post ( )ffice for and throughout all the King's plantations 
and colonies in the main land or continent of America and the islands 
adjacent thereto, and in and by the said deputation may more fully 
appear : 

^'And li'hercas, The said Andrew Hamilton hath, by and with the 
good liking and approbation of the Postmaster General of England, 
made application to the proprietary and governor of this province and 
territories and freemen thereof convened in general assembly, that they 
would ascertain and establish such rates and sums of money upon letters 
and packets going by post as may be an effectual encouragement for 
carrying on and maintaining a general post, and the proprietary and 
governor and freemen in general assembly met, considering that the 
maintaining of mutual and speedy correspondencies is very beneficial to 
the King and his subjects, and a great encouragement to the trade, and 
that the same is best carried on and managed by public post, as well as 
for the preventing of inconveniences which heretofore have happened 
for want thereof, as for a certain, safe and speedy dispatch, carrying and 
recarrying of all letters and packets of letters by post to and from all 
parts and places within the continent of America and several parts of 
Europe, and that the well ordering thereof is matter of general con- 
cernment and of great advantage, and being willing to encourage such a 
public benefit : 

" (Section i.) Have therefore enaeted, and be it enacted by the said 
Proprietary and Governor of this Province and Territories, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Freemen thereof i?i General Assembly met, 
and by the authority of the same, That there be from henceforth one 
general letter office erected and established within the town of Phila- 
delphia, from whence all letters and packets whatsoever may be with 
speed and expedition sent into any part of the neighboring colonies and 
plantations on the mainland and continent of America, or into any other 
of the King's kingdoms or dominions, or unto any kingdom or country 
beyond the seas ; at which said office all returns and answers may like- 
wise be received, etc., etc." 

The pioneer mail- route through this wilderness was over the old State 
Road; it was established in 1S05. It was carried on horseback from 
Bellefonte to Meadville. The route was over the State Road to what is 
now the Clarion line ; from there over a new road to the Allegheny 
River or Parker's Ferry, now Parker's City; up the river to Franklin, 
and from there to Meadville. The pioneer contractor's name was James 
Randolph, from Meadville. The next contractor was Hamilton, from 
Bellefonte ; then by Benjamin Haitshour and others, until the turnpike 
was completed ; then the first stage contract was taken by Clark, of 
Perry County. He sent on his coaches by John O'Neal, and from that 
time until the present the mail has been carried through this county ; 

341 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and in 1812 we got our news from a Meadville paper, edited by Thomas 
Atkinson, called the Crawford Weekly Messenger. The nearest post- 
ofifice west was Franklin, and east was Curwinsville. All papers that 
came through the county were carried outside the mail and delivered by 
the mail-carrier. Our nearest post-office south was at Kittanning, Arm- 
strong County, and when any one in the neighborhood would go there 
they would bring the news for all and distribute the same. 

In 1S15 the United States had three thousand post-offices. The 
postage for a single letter, composed of one piece of paper, under forty 
miles, eight cents ; over forty and under ninety miles, ten cents ; under 
one hundred and fifty miles, twelve and a half cents : under three hun- 
dred miles, seventeen cents ; under five hundred miles, twenty cents : 
over five hundred miles, twenty-five cents. The law was remodelled in 
1 81 6 and continued until 1845, ^s follows, — viz.: Letters thirty miles, 
six and a quarter cents ; over thirty and under eighty miles, ten cents : 
over eighty and under one hundred and fifty miles, twelve and a half 
cents ; over one hundred and fifty and under four hundred miles, 
eighteen and three-quarter cents ; over four hundred miles, twenty-five 
cents. If the letter weighed an ounce, four times these rates were 
charged. Newspaper rates, in the State or under one hundred miles, 
one cent ; over one hundred miles or out of the State, one and one-half 
cents. Periodicals, from one and one-half to two, four, and six cents. 
A portion of the records of the postmaster-general's office at Washing- 
ton were destroyed by fire in the year 1836 ; but it has been ascer- 
tained that an advertisement was issued May 20, 18 14, for once-a-week 
service on route No. 51, Bellefonte to Franklin, Pennsylvania, from Janu- 
ary I, 181 5, to December 31, 181 7, Jefferson Court -House being men- 
tioned as an intermediate point ; that on May 26, 181 7, an advertisement 
was issued for service between the same points from January i, 18 18, to 
December 31, 1819; and on May 26, 1819, service as above was again 
advertised from January i, 1820, to December 31, 1823; the service 
during these years connecting at Franklin with another route to Mead- 
ville. 

Owing to the incompleteness of the records of the office at A\'ashing- 
ton, for the reason above stated, the names of all the contractors prior 
to 1824 cannot be given ; but under advertisement of June 10, 1823, for 
once aweek service on route 158, Bellefonte to Meadville, from January 
I, 1824, to December 31, 1S27, contract was made with Messrs. Hayes 
and Bennett, of Franklin, Pennsylvania, at the rate of sixteen hundred 
dollars per annum. 

From the best information at hand, it appears that a post-office was 
established at Port Barnett, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1826, the name 
changed to Brookville, September 10, 1830; that from the date of the 
establishment of the post-office to December 31, 1839, the office was 

342 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

supplied by star route from Bellefonte to Meadville, Pennsylvania, Messrs. 
Bennett and Hayes being the contractors to December 31, 1S31, Messrs. 
T. and B. Bennett to December 31, 1835, and Mr. Benjamin Bennett to 
December 31, 1839. 

From January i, 1840, Brookville was supplied by route from Cur- 
winsville to Meadville, Pennsylvania (the service having been divided on 
Curwinsville, the eastern route being from Lewistown via Bellefonte and 
other offices to Curwinsville), ]\Ir. Jesse Rupp being the contractor to 
June 30, 1844, and Mr. John Wightman to June 30, 1848. 

Prior to 1826, or the completion of the turnpike, there was no post- 
office in this wilderness. Not until the county had been organized for 
twenty-two and the pioneers had been here for twenty- five years was a 
post-office created. The second mail-route in this county commenced at 
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and ended in Olean, New York. The route 
was one hundred and ten miles long. It was established in 1826. Ros- 
well P. Alford, of Wellsville, Ohio, contractor and proprietor. The 
mail was to be carried through once a week, and this was done on horse- 
back, and the pay for this service was four hundred dollars a year. The 
following-named post-offices were created in this county to be supplied 
by the carrier on this route : 

Port Barnett, Pine Creek township, January 4, 1826 ; Joseph Barnett, 
postmaster. 

Montmorenci, Ridgeway township, February 14, 1826 ; Reuben A. 
Aylesworth, postmaster. 

Punxsutawney, Young township, February 14, 1S26 ; Charles R. 
Barclay, postmaster. 

Hellen, Ridgeway township, April, 1828 ; Philetus Clarke, postmaster. 

pjrockwayville, Pine Creek township, April 13, 1829, Alonzo Brock- 
way, postmaster. 

From the information at hand it appears that an advertisement was 
issued in the year of 1S25 for proposals carrying the mails on star route 
No. 79, from Bellefonte, by Karthaus, Bennett's Creek, Rockaway, Gil- 
lett's, and Scull's, to Smithport, Pennsylvania, once in two weeks, from 
January i, 1826, to December 31, 1S27 ; and that in 1827 an advertise- 
ment was issued for service on route No. 219, from Bellefonte, by Karthaus, 
Fox, Bennett's Branch, Ridgeway, Gillett's, Scull's, Montmorenci, Ser- 
geant, and Smithport, Pennsylvania, to Olean, New York, once a week, 
from January i, 1828, to December 31, 1S31. 

There is no record showing the contractors during the above terms. 

In the year 1831 an advertisement was issued for star route No. 
1 127, from Bellefonte, by Milesburg, Karthaus, Bennett's Branch, Fox, 
Kerseys, Ridgeway, Montmorenci, Clermontville, Smithport, Allegheny 
Bridge, Pennsylvania, and ISIill Grove, New York, to Olean, New York, 
once a week, from January i, 1832, to December 31, 1835, ^"^^ contract 

343 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

was awarded to Mr. James L. Gillis, of Montmorenci, with pay at the 
rate of six hundred and seventy-four dollars per annum. 

In 1835 ^^"^ advertisement was issued for service on route No. 1206, 
from Bellefonte, by Milesburg, Karthaus, Bennett's Branch, Caledonia, 
Fox, Kersey, Ridgeway, Williamsville, Clermontville, Smithport, Farmers 
Valley, Allegheny Bridge, Pennsylvania, and Mill Grove, New York, to 
Olean, New York, once a week, from January 1, 1836, to December 31, 
1839, and contract was awarded to Mr. Bernard Duffey (address not 
given) at six hundred and twenty-eight dollars per annum. 

In 1839 an advertisement was issued for service on route No. 1593, 
from Bellefonte, by Milesburg, Karthaus, Caledonia, Fox, Kersey, 
Ridgeway. Williamsville, Clermontville, Smithport, Farmers Valley, 
Allegheny Bridge, Pennsylvania, and Mill Grove, New York, to Olean, 
New York, once a week between Bellefonte and Smithport, and twice a 
week the residue of route, from January i, 1840, to June 30, 1844, and 
contract was awarded to Mr. Gideon Ions (address not given) at eight 
hundred and forty-five dollars per annum. 

EARLY POSTMASTERS, WHEN APPOINTED. 

Brookvinc.—]z.xt^ B. Evans, September 30, 1S30; Cephas J. Dun- 
ham, March 30, 1833; William Rodgers, January 19, 1835; Jo^^^ 
Dougherty, August 18, 1840; Samuel H. Lucas, June 25, 1S41. 

Brockiuayvillc. — Dr. Asaph M. Clarke, March 14, 183S. 

Clarion, noiu Corsica. — John McAnulty, February 8, 1833; John J. 
Y. Thompson, November 29, 1843. 

Cool Spring. — James Gray, April 17, 1838. 

Heathville. — Elijah Heath, September 24, 1841. 

Montmorenci. — Jesse Morgan, March 13, 1828; James L. Gillis, 
April 7, 1828. 

Punxsutatoney. — John W. Jenks, December 15, 1S28 ; David Barclay, 
November 2, 1830; Charles R. Barclay, December 21, 1S31 ; John Hunt, 
October 17, 1837; James McConaughey, February 11, 1839; John R. 
Rees, December 29, 1843. 

Prospect Hill. — Tilton Reynolds, May 18, 1842. 

Si/!n?nerville. — David Losh, February 14, 1839; Geo. Richards, 
October 4, 1839 ; Samuel B. Taylor, October 20, 1S40; James Gardner, 
October 4, 1841 ; Ira Baldwin, January 12, 1843. 

Jlarsaro. — Thos. McCormick, August 15, 1836; David McCormick, 
January 17, 1S38 ; Moses B. St. John, May 12, 1839. 

Wliitesville. — John Keim, December 14, 1835. 

Like every other business in those days, the postmaster trusted his 
patrons, as the following advertisement exhibits, — vi/. : 

"All persons indebted to C. J. Dunham for postage on letters or 
newspapers are notified to call and pay off their bills to James M. Steed- 

344 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PEXNA. 

man, or they may look for John Smith, as no longer indulgence can or 
will be given. 

''February iS, 1834." 

Barter was taken in exchange for postage. In those days uncalled- 
for letters were advertised in the papers. The pioneer advertisement of 
letters was in the PJiiladelpliia Gazette, March 26, 1783. 

In the thirties distance governed the postage on letters up to four 
hundred miles and more. The price of such a letter was twenty-five 
cents. The postmaster, who was also a merchant, took produce for 
letters the same as for goods, and for postage on such a letter as named 
would receive two bushels of oats, two bushels of potatoes, four pounds 
of butter, or five dozen eggs. To pay the postage on thirty-two letters 
such as named the farmer would have to sell a good cow. "In early 
times it was death by the law to rob the United States mails." 

In the pioneer days, or previous to about i860, there was no bank in 
Jefferson County. There was no way to transmit funds except sending 
them with a direct messenger or by some neighbor who had business in 
the locality where you desired to send your money. An adroit way was 
to secure a ten-, fifty-, or one-hundred-dollar bill, cut it in two, send the 
first half in a letter, wait for a reply, and then enclose the other half in 
a letter also. The party receiving the halves could paste them together. 
The pioneer merchants when going to Philadelphia for goods put their 
silver Spanish dollars in belts in undershirts and on other parts of their 
person, wherever they thought it could be best concealed. In this way 
on horseback they made journeys. Every horseback rider (tourist) 
carried a pair of leather saddle-bags. 

In the United States on the ist of July, 1837, the post roads were 
about 118,264 miles in extent, and the annual transportation of the mails 
was at the rate of 27,578,620 miles, — viz. : 

On horseback and in sulkies, 8,291,504; in stages, 17,408,820; in 
steamboats and railroad cars, 1,878,297. 

The number of post-offices in the United States on the ist of July, 
1835, was 10,770; on the ist of July, 1S36, it was 11,091 ; and on the 
1st of December, 1837, 11,100. 

In the year 1837 the postmaster- general recommended revision of 
the present rates of postage of about twenty per cent., to take effect on 
the ist of July next. To this end he suggested the following letter 
postage : 

75 miles and under 5 cents. 

150 miles and over 75 miles 10 " 

300 miles and over 150 miles 15 " 

600 miles and over 300 miles 20 " 

Over 600 miles 25 " 

23 345 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Postage stamps were invented by James Chalmers, an Englishman, 
and first used May 6, 1840, in London. 

The first issue of the United States stamps took place in 1845, but 
the postmasters of several places had issued stamps for their own con- 
venience a few years before this. These " Postmasters'," or provisional 
stamps, of course, were not good fOr postage after the government issue 
took place. 

The first stamp sold of this issue was bought by the Hon. Henry 
Shaw. This issue consisted of but two denominations, the five- and ten- 
cent ones, and were unperforated, as were the stamps of the next series, 
issued in 1 85 1-56. 

The pioneer post-office was established in this State under an act of 
Assembly, November 27, 1700. 



CHAPTER XX. 

PIONEER ROADS IN PROVISIONAL JEFFERSON COUNTY FROM 1808 TO 1830. 

ABSTRACT OF INDIANA RECORDS.* 
PIONEER ROAD. 

" The petition of a number of citizens of Jefferson County and parts 
adjacent was presented to Court and read, praying for the view of a road 
from Brady's mill,t on Little Mahoning Creek, to Sandy Lick Creek, in 
Jefferson County, where the State Road crosses the same. Whereupon 
the Court did appoint Samuel Lucas, John Jones, Moses Knapp, Samuel 
Scott, John Park, and John Wier to view and make report to next Court. 
September sessions, 1808, report filed." 

There is no report of the viewers on record, nor is the report in the 
file with the old papers. 

SEPTEMBER SESSIONS, A.D. 1809. 

"The petition of a number of the inhabitants of Jefferson County 
was presented to Court and read, praying for a view of a road from a 
bridge at the end of Adam Vasbinder's lane to Samuel Scott's mills on 
Sandy Lick Creek. Whereupon the Court did appoint William Yas- 
binder, Moses Knapp, Ludwick Long, Samuel Scott, Adam Vasbinder, 
and John Taylor to view and make report to next Court. Order issued. 
Distance, 2}4 miles and 53 perches." 

* By J. N. Banks, E-^q., Indiana, Pennsylvania, 
■f- Indiana County. 

346 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

MARCH SESSIONS, iSlI. 

"The petition of the inhabitants of Jefferson County was presented 
to Court and read, setting forth that they labored under great inconveni- 
ences from the want of a pubhc road from the settlement in Jefferson 
County to the settlement in Mahoning township, Indiana County, to 
begin near Moses Knapp's mill, on the State Road, to Big Mahoning 
Creek, near John Bell's. Whereupon the Court did appoint John Tay- 
lor, John Bell, Thomas Lucas, INIoses Knapp, John Matson, and John 
Jones to view and make report to next Court. Order issued. IJistance, 
15 miles and 95 perches; 20 feet wide." 

" The petition of a number of the inhabitants of the county of In- 
diana and county district of Jefferson was presented to Court and read, 
setting forth that they labor under great inconvenience from want of a 
public road from Puxsutawney, to intersect the road leading from Brady's 
mills to the mouth of Anderson's Creek, at or near Lucas's camp. 
Whereupon the Court appointed John W. Jenks, Zephaniah Weakland, 
John Bell, Esq., Samuel Bell, Esq., Peter Dilts, and INIoses Crawford to 
view the ground over which the proposed road is petitioned for and to 
to make return next sessions. Approved April 12, 1820. Distance, 7j4 
miles and 34 perches." 

"The petition of the inhabitants of Perry township, in Jefferson 
County, and also of Mahoning township, in Indiana County, was pre- 
sented to Court and read, setting forth that they labor under great incon- 
venience from the want of a public road from the four-mile tree, upon a 
road leading from John Bell's, Esq., in Jefferson County, to David Law- 
son's, in Armstrong County; from thence to intersect the road leading 
from Jacob Knave's to James Ewing's mill, at or near the north end of 
the farm of Joshua Lewis. Whereupon the Court appointed James 
Ewing, William Dilts, James McComb, William Davis, Samuel Bell, 
Esq., and David Cochran to view the ground over which said road is 
contemplated to be made and make report to next Court. Distance, 7^4 
miles and 26 perches; 25 feet wide. Approved March 29, 1S20." 

'■ The petition of a number of the inhabitants of Pine Creek town- 
ship, in Jefferson County, was presented to Court and read, setting forth 
that they labor under great inconveniences from the want of a public 
road from the county line of Armstrong County, to which place there is 
a road leading out near William King's ; from thence to the town of 
Troy, which is about a mile. Whereupon it is considered by the Court 
and ordered that Salmon Fuller, John Welch, John Lucas, James Shields, 
James C lemons, and Peter Bartle do view the ground over which the 
proposed road is petitioned for and make report to next Court. Dis- 
tance, 253 perches. Approved December 2S, 1S20." 

" The petition of a number of the inhabitants of Pine Creek township 

347 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

was presented to Court and read, setting forth that they labor under 
great inconvenience for the want of a road or cart-way from the eighty- 
mile post near Alexander Power's on the State Road, to intersect the road 
leading to Indiana at or near Little Sandy Creek, and praying the Court 
to appoint viewers to view and lay out the same. Whereupon the Court 
appointed John Bell, John Matson, Archibald Hadden, John Bartle, 
Joseph McCullough, and Robert Anderson to view the ground over 
which the said road is contemplated to be made and make report to next 
Court. Distance, 9 miles and 63 perches. December 28, 1820, order 
of view approved." 

"The petition of a number of the inhabitants of Perry township, in 
Jefferson County, was presented to Court and read, setting forth that 
they labor under great inconvenience from the want of a public road 
from Punxsutawney, to intersect the road leading from Indiana to Bar- 
nett's, at or near John Bell's, Esq. Whereupon the Court appointed 
John Bell, Esq., Archibald Hadden, Michael Lantz, Hugh McKee, 
Jacob Hoover, and William P. Brady to view the ground over which the 
proposed road is contemplated to be made and make report to next 
Court. Distance, 6 miles and 120 perches. Approved December 28, 
1S20." 

" The petition of a number of the inhabitants of the counties of In- 
diana and Jefferson was presented to the Court and read, setting forth 
that they labor under great inconvenience for the want of a road from 
the settlement on the Indiana and Susquehanna road to Punxsutawney 
and Barclay's mill, conveniently at the northeast corner of Abraham Wil- 
cock's lots, or near it, to intersect the road from Punxsutawney Leasure's 
camp, at or near where said road crosses Canoe Creek. Whereupon it 
is considered and ordered by the Court that Moses Crawford, John Park, 
Robert Hamilton, John Jamison, William Hendricks, and James Work 
do view the ground over which the proposed road is contemplated to be 
made, and if they or any four of these actual viewers agree that there is 
occasion for said road, they shall make report to next Court. 

"June 25, 1822, report of viewers approved and ordered to be 
opened. 

" No distance is given in the return of viewers." 

SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL ROADS AND COUNTY BRIDGES FROM 

1S30 TO 1S40. 

DECEMBER SESSIONS, 1830. 

Petition No. i. — Petition of the commissioners of Jefferson County 
for a bridge over Sandy Lick Creek where public highway to Indiana 
crosses said creek in the township of Pine Creek in said county, etc. 

December 7, 1830, the Court appointed Joseph Harnett, William Rob- 

34S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

inson, David Butler, Samuel Jones, John Christy, and Joseph Potter to 
view the same and report according to law. 

The contract for this bridge was made August ii, 1829. The com- 
missioners were Thomas McKee and Thomas Lucas. The contractors, 
William Morrison and William Kelso. Witnesses to agreement, Andrew 
Barnett and John McCihee. Consideration, S320, to be paid as follows, 
^viz. : to give them now in hand the subscription of $75, and a draft 
on the supervisors of Pine Creek township for $50, and the remainder, 
$195, in county orders when completed. 

The bridge was 16 feet wide, with stone abutments 75 feet apart, suf- 
ficiently strong to support roofing, and to be finished in 113 days. 

Petition No. j. — Road from Barclay & Jenks's mill to PJrookville. 

December 7, 1830. Viewers : James Winslow, Charles G. Gaskill, 
William Maxwell, Reuben Hickox, Alexander Jordan, and John Hess. 
Confirmed September session, 1831. 

Petition No. 2. — Road from Jacob Hoover's mill to intersect the 
road leading from Barclay & Jenks's mill to the Jefferson road through 
Gibson's clearing. 

Viewers : James Winslow, Obed Morris, Stephen Lewis, Reuben 
Hickox, John Hess, and Alfred Carey. Read and confirmed and ordered 
to be opened 35 feet wide, unless where digging and bridging is neces- 
sary. December 13, 1831. 

Petition No. J. — Road from Brookville to David Hamilton's on the 
Indiana county line. 

February 8, 1831. Viewers: David Postlethwait, Archibald Haddon, 
William Newcomb, John Christy, John Shields, and John Barnett. Sep- 
tember 7, 1831, read and confirmed. 

Petition No. 4. — Road from William McKee's on the turnpike to 
James Linn's improvement on the Olean road. 

February 8, 183 1. Viewers: Christopher Barr, Jared B. Evans, 
Thomas Lucas, Esq., Thomas Robinson, Samuel Knapp, and William 
Vasbinder. Read and confirmed. December 13, 1832, ordered to be 
opened. 

Report No. j. — Of a road from Brookville to Matson's mill. 

Viewers report in favor of same February 7, 1831 : Thomas Robin- 
son, R. R. Scott, Samuel Hughey, William Vasbinder, Joseph Clements. 
Confirmed by the Court and ordered to be opened 25 feet wide. May 
10, 1S31. 

M.W SESSIONS, 1 83 I. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Moses Knapp' s mill to intersect the 
Sandy road at or near W. Godfrey's. 

Viewers: James Corbett, Esq., Isaac McElvane, Nathan Carrier, Sam- 
uel Kennedy, James Hall, and Daniel Elgin. Reported. December 13, 
1 83 1, approved and ordered to be opened. 

349 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Petition No. 4. — For a road from the thirty-fourth mile-stone on the 
Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike road to or near the house of Jo- 
seph McCullough. 

Viewers: Peter Sutton, Thomas Lucas, Esq., A. Barnett, John Latti- 
mer, David Eutler, and James Stewart. iSIay 10, 1831. February S, 1832, 
read and approved. 

Petitioti N'o. 5. — For a road from Troy to intersect the Olean road at 
John McAnulty's. 

Viewers : John Shields, Thomas Robinson, Thomas Lacy, Alonzo 
Baldwin, John Shoemaker, and Hiram Carrier. May 9, 1831. Read/// 
si February 8, 1S32. 

MAY SESSIONS, 1832. 

Petition No. z.— For a road from Squire McCullough's shop to David 
Butler's. 

Viewers: Andrew Barnett, Joseph McCullough, Esq., David Butler, 
Jacob Vasbinder, Samuel Jones, and John Lattimer. December 12, 
1832. Read and approved ;// J-/. 

Report No. 7. — Of a road from Shields's Lane to the road running 
along Red Bank Creek. 

Viewers report in favor of road January 31, 1833 : William B. Ken- 
nedy, Thomas Robinson, Isaac jNIcElvane, Darius Carrier. Confirmed 
May II, 1833. 

MAY SESSIONS, I 833. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from Shoemaker's to intersect the road 
from Hance Robinson's to Troy. 

Viewers : John Milliron, Samuel Milliron, Isaac McElvane, John J. 
Y. Thompson, Hulet Smith, and Darius Carrier. December 12, 1833, 
approved. 

DECEMBER SESSIONS, I 833. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from Thomas liarr's on the Olean road 
to the L^nion School-House. 

Viewers : J. J. Y. Thompson, J. W. Monks, John Barnett, John 
Shields, Samuel Jones, and Israel Gray. May 13, 1834, approved. 

FEBRUARY SESSIONS, I 834. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Port Barnett on the Indiana road 
to the Ceres road at or near Punxsutawney. 

Viewers : John Long, John J. Y. Thompson, James j\I. Steedman, 
George Gray, David Henry, and Stephen Lewis. February 12, 1834. 
September 11, read ni si. January 12, 1S47, ordered to be opened. 

Petition N'o. 2. — For a road from a public road leading from Brook- 
ville to Kittanning at the county line to McKinstry's saw-mill near the 
mill of John Robinson. 

350 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Viewers : John J. Y. Thompson, Euphrastus Carrier, Aaron Fuller, 
John Nolf, Sr. , William Ferguson, and John Shoemaker. February 12, 
1S34. December 13, 1S43, approved and ordered to be opened 50 feet 
wide. 

MAY SESSIONS, 1S34. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Israel (Cray's fulling-mill and card- 
ing- machine to a point at or near where the Olean road crosses Little 
Mill Creek. 

Viewers ; William B. Kennedy, Israel Gray, John Monks, Samuel 
McGill, Rev. William Kennedy, and William Steel. September ii, 
1S34. June II, 1S35, ordered to be opened 20 feet wide. 

Petition Xo. 2. — For a road from the bridge over Mill Creek to the 
house of William McCullough in Pine Creek township. 

Viewers : John J, Y. Thompson, Henry Keys, Frederick Heterick, 
William Cooper, James Kyle, and Michael Long. September 11, 1834. 
Opening order issued October 23, 1835, to be 20 feet wide. 

Report No. j. — -Of a road from liall's mill on Tionesta to the Hepler 
Camp road near the four-mile tree. 

Viewers report in favor of road November 15, 1834: Cyrus lUood, 
David Reynolds, William Armstrong, Trumble Hunt, and John Hunt. 
Opening order issued October 16, 1835. 

MAY SESSIONS, 1835. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Robert P. Barr's on the turnpike 
to Andrew Vasbinder's improvement on the North Fork. 

Viewers : Hugh Brady, William B. Kennedy, Andrew Barnett, Fred- 
erick Heterick, William Long, and Michael Long. December i6, 1S36. 
Read and ordered to be opened 50 feet wide. 

Petition No. 6. — For a bridge across Red Bank Creek where the 
Brookville and Hamilton road crosses. 

Viewers: John Dougherty, John Matson, Sr., James K. Huffman, 
Daniel Coder, Robert Morrison, and John Philliber. February 13, 
1836. Viewers report in favor, March 8, 1836. 

Petition No. 7. — For a bridge on Big Mahoning. 

Viewers : Thomas Kerr, James E. Cooper, Daniel Henneigh, Christian 
Reischel, John Drum, and James W. Bell. February 13, 1836. August 
20, 1836, report in favor and county pay $180. 

Report No. 10. — Of a road from John Hoover's mill to intersect the 
Ceres road at or near Daniel Graffius's, Jr. 

Viewers report in favor of road February 4, 1836: James H. Bell, 
Nathaniel Tindall, John Hoover (miller), Samuel Bowers, James E. 
Cooper. May term approved. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from James Ross's to intersect the Brock- 
way road at or near S. Tibbetts's. 

351 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Viewers : Frederick Heterick, Paul Vandevort, William Cooper, James 
Smith, John McLaughlin, and Jared B. Evans. 

Peiitio7i No. j. — For a road from the tan-yard of John W. Jenks in 
Punxsutawney to the saw-mill of Wm. Campbell. 

Viewers : Thomas Kerr, James E. Cooper, Andrew Bowers, James 
Winslow, John Ham, and John Hunt. Approved May lo, 1836. 

Report No. 8. — Of a road from the west end of Morrison's Lane to 
the west end of John Kennedy's. 

Viewers report in favor of road (no date) 1835 : John J. Y. Thomp- 
son, Moses Knapp, Nathan Carrier, John Love, Sr. , Wallace Bratton. 
May 10, 1S36, read and confirmed. 

SEPTEMBER SESSIONS, 1S36. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from Vasbinder's improvement to 
Frederick Heterick's. 

^'iewers : William Kennedy, Jr., Frederick Heterick, Michael Long, 
James Moorhead, Hugh P]rady, Esq., and Jesse Clark. May lo, 1836. 
December 17, 1836, read and confirmed. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from Mill Creek road near John Wil- 
son's to Maize's Gap on the Clarion River. 

Viewers : William Armstrong, Nathan Phipps, Thos. Callin, Henry 
M. Clark, Daniel Elgin, and George Catz. September 16, 1836, May 
10, 1837, read and approved. 

Petition No. 6. — For a road from Ball's mill on Tionesta Creek to 
intersect the Warren and Hepler Camp road near the four-mile tree. 

Viewers : Cyrus Blood, William Armstrong, Trumble Hunt, Thomas 
Maize, John Hunt, and David Reynolds. 

DECEMBER SESSION'S, I 836. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Jacob Smith's to intersect the Ceres 
road at or near John Rhoads's. 

Viewers: David Kerr, John Hoover (miller), John Rhoads, Sr., John 
Pifer, Sr., John 15outhart, and Nathaniel Tindall. December 16, 1S36. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from the house of James Smith to inter- 
sect the Ceres road at or near the farm of Wm. Smith. 

Viewers : Isaac Packer, John Fuller, Andrew liarnett, John Matson, 
Sr., Henry Vasbinder, John J. V. Thompson. December 16, 1836. 
October 14, 1837, viewers report in favor of road. May 16, 183S, con- 
firmed. 

EEBRUARY SESSIONS, I 837. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Armstrong & Reynolds's mill at 
the mouth of Maple Creek to Thomas Mechan's farm on the line of 
Jefferson and Venango. 

Viewers: John H. Maize, Nathan Phipps. John Cook, James Aharrah, 

352 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

George Armstrong, and Joseph Reynolds. February 14, 1837. July 24, 
1837, viewers report in favor of road. September 15, 1837, read and 
confirmed ;// si. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from the public road at or near David 
Milliron's to intersect the Troy road at or near Benjamin Shaffer's. 

Viewers : John Robinson, John Bell, Esq., James Corbett, AVm. New- 
comb, David Postlethwait, and John Alcorn. February 17, 1837. 

MAY SESSIONS, I 83 7. 

Petition No. i — For a road from Daniel Elgin's to the turnpike near 
the Widow Mills's. 

Viewers: Thomas Hall, John Monks, John J. Y. Thompson, Thomas 
Arthurs, John Barnett, and Samuel Davidson. May lo, 1S37. Con- 
firmed September 15, 1837. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from the road from AMiitesville to Punx- 
sutawney, one-half mile east of Whitesville, to intersect the road from 
Hamilton's to Brookville near Henry Philliber's. 

Viewers: John Bell, Esq., William Newcomb, Wm. Stunkard, John 
J. Y. Thompson, Wm. Johnston, and Daniel Postlethwait. May 10, 1837. 
September 15, 1837, confirmed ni si. Order issued December 23, 1837, 
for opening to John C. Ferguson, and to be paid by him. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from the Smethport and Milesburg 
turnpike where it crosses Clarion River to the mouth of Spring Creek. 

Viewers : Henry Kerns, Caleb Dill, Lyman Wilmarth, George Pelton, 
John Liram, and Gould Richards. May 10, 1S37. September 15, 1837, 
read and confirmed ;// si. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from John Bowers's to James H. Bell's 
grist- mill. 

Viewers : Andrew Bowers, Joseph W. Winslow, James Winslow, 
James E. Cooper, James Hunter, and John Grube. May 10, 1837. Sep- 
tember 15, 1837, read and confirmed /// si. February 10, 1845, on the 
application of George R. Barrett, deputy attorney-general, the Court 
order and direct that the road be opened 40 feet wide. 

SEPTEMBER SESSIONS, I 83 7. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from David Dennison's to the seventy- 
first mile-stone. 

Viewers : James Ross, Joseph McAfee, Henry Keys, Henry Mcintosh, 
James M. Brockway, and A. Sibley. Confirmed May 16, 1S38. 

Petition N'o. 10. — For a bridge on Mahoning Creek near Charles C. 
Gaskill's. 

Viewers: David Henneigh, John Hutchison, John Drum, John 
Grube, Samuel Steffy, and Philip Bowers to view and report on same. 
September 1837. The county builds this bridge. John Hutchison, 

353 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEI^FERSON COUxNTV, FENXA. 

foreman. The Court approve the finding of the grand jury and direct 
the within-named bridge to be recorded as a county bridge. December 
13. 1S37. 

DECEMBER SESSION'S, I 83 7. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from the forks of Jones's Run to intersect 
the Olean road about one mile east of Mr. Gorden's near the Black 
Swamp. 

Viewers : Joseph Hughes, John Barnett, John Wilson, Samuel 
Hughes, William Mendenhall, and John J. Y. Thompson. December 
13. December iS, 1840, confirmed. Order to open, April 24, 1841. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from Thomas Wilkins's to Ebenezer 
Carr's. 

Viewers : Samuel Clark, Thomas ^^'ilklns, John Long, John J. Y. 
Thompson, Samuel McQuiston, and Daniel Chistiter. December 12, 

1837. Read and confirmed May 16, 1S3S. 

Petition No. 6. — For a bridge across Red Bank Creek at or near 
Carrier's mill. 

View^ers : David Henry, John Lattimer, James Matson, John Smith, 
John Wynkoop, and Job McCreight. December 12, 1837. Approved 
by the grand jury, and the county to assist in building the same. Feb- 
ruary 16, 1 838. 

FEBRUARY SESSIONS, 1 838. 

Report N'o. j. — Of a road from Curry's lot to John Bell's in Perry. 

Viewers report in favor of road February 9, 1838: John Hutchison, 
James W. Bell, Samuel K. Williams, Andrew Gibson, William Haddon, 
William Marshall. February 16, 1S38, confirmed ni si. May 17, 1838, 
confirmed. 

Petition N'o. i. — For a bridge across Red Bank Creek at the place 
where the road from Aaron Fuller's to Hance Robinson's crosses. 

Viewers : Thomas Hastings, John Lucas, Robert Andrews, Isaac 
McElvane, Jesse Smith, and John Barnett. Approved September 12, 

1838, by Court. 

MAY SESSIONS, 183S. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Benjamin Shaffer's to David Mill- 
iron's. 

Viewers: Aaron Fuller, Hance Robinson, Conrad Xolf, Isaac Mc- 
Elvane, Thomas Gourley, and James Winslow, Esq. Read and con- 
firmed February i6, 1839. 

Petition iXo. 2. — For a road from Dennison's to William McCon- 
nell's. 

Viewers : Henry Keys, Andrew Smith, James Moorhead, Stephen 
Tibbetts, James Ross, and Isaac Temple. May 17, 1838. Confirmed 
December 14, 183S. Ordered to be opened 50 feet wide, December 15, 
1843. 

354 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

DECEMBER SESSIONS, 1 838. 

Petition Xo. 4. — For a road from the twentieth mile-stone on the Sus- 
quehanna and Franklin turnpike to the Sandy Lick Creek at the Irish 
Town path. 

Alewers : \\'illiam Reynolds, Samuel Rea, Henry Mcintosh, Andrew 
Smith, ^Voodward Reynolds, and David Rhea. December 14, 183S. 
May 15, 1S39, read and confirmed. 

MAV SESSIONS, 1S39. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from Wakefield's in Pine Creek town- 
ship to the district line near Andrew McCormick's, Snyder township. 

Viewers: Isaac H. Metcalf, David McCormick, John Wilson, Ira 
Brownson, and Elihu Clark. Approved /// j/ December lo, 1839. 

Petition No. 2. — For a road from Aaron Fuller's to the Brookvilleand 
Hamilton road near Mr. Holt's. 

Views: Alonzo Baldwin, John Robinson, Esq., Salmon Fuller, Jr., 
Joel Spyker, John Welsh, and John Shoemaker. May 14, 1839. Read 
and confirmed ni si December 13, 1839, and ordered to be opened Feb- 
ruary 10, 1840. 

Petition No.j. — For a road from Hance Robinson's mill to the Arm- 
strong County line near the land of Hulet Smith. 

Viewers : Joel Spyker, Alonzo Baldwin, Frederick Heterick, Samuel 
Newcombj Hulet Smith, and Nathan Carrier. May 14, 1S39. Read and 
confirmed ;// j-/ September 10, 1S39. Order to open October 7, 1840. 

Petition No. 4. — For a road from Daniel Elgin's in Eldred township 
to the mouth of Spring Creek in Ridgeway township. 

Viewers : James Crow, John McLaughlin, James Moorhead, Henry 
Vasbinder, Jr., Peter Vasbinder, and James FuUerton. May 14, 1839. 
Read and confirmed ni si December 11, 1839. 

Petition No. 6. — For a road from the borough of Brookville to the 
Beech Bottom on Clarion River. 

Viewers : James Moorhead, John McLaughlin, William Long, Henry 
Vasbinder, Jr., Almond Sartwell, and William Humphreys. May 14, 
1839. Read and confirmed December 13, 1S39. 

Petition No. 8. — For a road from the upper end of the Clearfield and 
Armstrong turnpike east of Pun.xsutawney to intersect the old State Road 
at or near John McHenry's. 

Viewers : James Winslow, Samuel StelTy, David Barnett, Daniel Hen- 
neigh, Robert Cunningham, and Christian Reischel. May 14, 1839. 
Read and confirmed December 13, 1839. 

SEPTEMBER SESSIONS, 1 839. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from the farm of Levi G. Clover to the 
Olean road at or near James Cochran's. 

355 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Mewers : William Kennedy, James Summerville, Henry M. R. Clark, 
William Hindman, John McCracken, and John \\'ilson, Esq. September 
II, 1839. Read ni si 1S39. Ordered to be opened May 22, 1840. 

Petition N'o. 8. — For a road from the twelfth mile-stone on the turn- 
pike to intersect the road half a mile east of John McGhee's. 

Viewers : John Mcintosh, John Atwell, William Cooper, John Mc- 
Ghee, Oliver McClelland, and James Moorhead. September 11, 1839. 
May 12, 1840, confirmed and ordered to be opened 50 feet wide. 

Report A'o. g. — Of a road from the southeast corner of the Graham 
lot on the Punxsutawney road to intersect the turnpike at the northeast 
corner of Andrew Barnett's land. 

^'iewers report in favor of road August 23, 1S39 : Samuel McQuiston, 
Joseph Kerr, Elijah Clark, John J. Y. Thompson, John \\ . Baum. Peti- 
tioned for May 15, 1839. December 13, 1839, read and confirmed. 

Report A^o. 16. — Of a bridge across the Big Mahoning Creek at the 
Bell's mills. 

Viewers report in favor of bridge November 30, 1837 : John Drum, 
Philip Bowers, Daniel Henneigh, John Grube, Samuel Steffy, John 
Hutchison. Petitioned for September, 1837. County appropriated 
$250 to build said bridge. David McCormick, foreman. Court concur 
September 1 1, 1839. 

DECEMBER SESSIONS, 1839. 

Petition N'o. i. — For a road from Richards's mill on the Brookville 
and Beech Bottom road to intersect the Brockway road at or near the 
farm of Almon Sartwell. 

Mewers : John INIcLaughlin, James K. Huffman, William Hum- 
phreys, Peter Chamberlain, Henry Vasbinder, Jr., and Thomas Drum. 
December lo, 1839. May 12, 1840, confirmed. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from the Hogback road near Frederick 
Lantz's to intersect the Brookville and Indiana road at or near T. S. 
Mitchell's store. 

\'iewers : George Bloss, David Postlethwait, Michael Lantz, Archi- 
bald Haddon, James Means, and David Lewis. Approved by Court, 
December 16, 1841. 

Petition N'o. ^. — For a road from T. S. Mitchell's on the Indiana 
and Brookville road to intersect the road that leads from Irvin Robin- 
son's to the Indiana County line. 

Viewers: George Bloss, David Postlethwait, Michael Lantz, Archi- 
bald Haddon, James Means, and David Lewis. December 13, 1839. 
Confirmed December 18, 1840. 

Petition No. 5. — For a road from John Quiggles's to the Big Maho- 
ning Creek where the line between James Solesby and William Campbell 
crosses said creek. 

356 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Viewers : James H. Bell, David Kerr, Samuel Steffy, Samuel Bowers 
Charles Shipman, and William Cochran. Read and confirmed February 
term, 1841. 

Petition Xo. 6. — For a road from the road that has been of late made 
from the twentieth mile-stone to Sandy Lick Creek to the pjeechwoods 
road, one and a quarter miles from the twentieth mile-stone road. 

\'iewers : Woodward Reynolds, Ramsey Potter, Henry Mcintosh, 
Samuel Sprague, and Thomas Reynolds. December 9, 1839. Con- 
firmed May 12, 1840. 

Petition No. 7. — For a road from the Waterford turnpike one-half 
mile east of the twenty-fifth mile-stone to David Losh's grist-mill. 

Viewers : William Reynolds, Isaac McElvane, Jacob Horm, Ramsey 
Potter, Woodward Reynolds, and David Rhea. December 9, 1S39. 
Confirmed May 12, 1840. 

FEBRUARY SESSIONS, 1840. 

Petition No. i. — For a road from the Brockway road at or near S. 
Tibbetts's to the Beehwoods road at or near James Ross's Lane. 

Viewers : David Dennison, Henry Mcintosh, Henry Keys, Findley 
McCormick, William Cooper, and Isaac Temple. February ii, 1S40. 
Confirmed May 12, 1840. 

Petitioned for to Shaw's from Ross's Lane, September, 1S36. Con- 
firmed to these points May 10, 1837. • 

MAY SESSIONS, 184O. 

Petition No. j. — For a road from the Brockway road at or near Peter 
Richards's smith-shop to the Beechwoods road at or near the top of Mill 
Creek Hill. 

Viewers : John McLaughlin, James Ross, William Shaw, Henry Vas- 
binder, Jr., Henry Keys, and Milton Johnston. May 13, 1840. Feb- 
ruary 10, 1841, read and confirmed to be opened fifty feet wide. 

SEPTEMBER SESSIONS, 184O. 

Petition iVo. j. — For a road from the Clearfield County line near 
Robert Dixon's to Osborne's mill. 

"Viewers: John McLaughlin, John McGhee, Henry Mcintosh, 
Henry Keys, William Reynolds, and Andrew Hunter. September ii, 
1840. Read and confirmed February lo, 1S41. 

Report No. g. — Of a road from the road leading from Barnett's to 
Punxsutaw-ney, about one mile south of Barnett's, to the old Indiana 
road, near the Five-Mile Run. 

Viewers report in favor of road. May 12, 1S40: John McLaughlin, 
George L. Matthews, William Taylor, Ebenezer L. Kerr, William Wiley. 
September 17, 1S40, read ni si. February 10, 184T, read and confirmed. 

357 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



SUSQUEHANNA AND \VATERFORD TURNPIKE— THE OLD TOLL- 
GATES ALONG THE ROUTE— A FULL HISTORY OF THE OLD 
TURNPIKE, A PART OF WHICH IS NOW MAIN STREET IN REY- 
NOLDS VI LLE. 

In 1792 the first stone turnpike in the United States was chartered. 
It was constructed in Pennsylvania in 1794 from Lancaster to Philadel- 
phia. In this year also began the agitation in Pennsylvania for internal 
improvement. An agitation that resulted in a great era of State road, 
canal, and turnpike construction, encouraged and assisted by the State 
government. From 1792 until 1832 the Legislature granted two hundred 
and twenty charters for turnpike alone. 

Hiese pikes were not all made, but there was completed within that 
time, as a result of these grants, three thousand miles of passable roads. 
The pioneer turnpike through our wilderness was the Susquehanna and 
\Vaterford turnpike. On February 22, 1S12, a law was enacted by the 
Pennsylvania Legislature enabling the governor to incorporate a company 
to build a turnpike from the Susquehanna River, near the mouth of An- 
derson Creek, in Clearfield County, through Jefferson County and what 
is now Brookville, and through the town of Franklin and Meadville, to 
Waterford, in Erie County. The governor was authorized to subscribe 
twelve thousand dollars in shares towards building the road. Joseph 
Barnett and Peter Jones, of Jefferson County, and two from each of the 
following counties, Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Clearfield, Venango, and 
Philadelphia, and two from the city of Philadelphia, were appointed com- 
missioners to receive stock. Each of the counties just named Avas re- 
quired to take a specified number of shares, and the shares were placed 
at twenty-five dollars each. Jefferson County was required to take fifty 
shares. 

The war of 1S12 so depressed business in this part of the State that 
all work was delayed on this thoroughfare for six years. The company 
commenced work in iSiS, and the survey was completed in October of 
that year. In November, 181S, the sections were offered for sale, and in 
November, 1822, the road was completed. 

The commissioners employed John Sloan, Esq., to make the survey 
and grade the road. They began the survey in the spring and finished 
it in the fall of 181 8, a distance of one hundred and four miles. The 
State took one-third of the stock. James Harriet, of Meadville, Pennsyl- 
vania, took the contract to build the road, and he gave it out to sub- 
contractors. Some took five miles, some ten, and so on. Work began 
in 1821, and was completed in 1S24. The bridge over the Clarion River 
was built in 182 1, by Moore, from Northumberland County; it was built 
with a single arch. 

In March, 1821, an act was passed by the Legislature appropriating 

35'S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

two thousand five hundred dollars for improving the road. Appoint- 
ments were made in each county through which the road passed of 
people whose duty it was to receive the money for each county and to 
pay it out. Charles C. Gaskill and Carpenter Winslow represented 
Jefiferson County. 

Andrew Ellicott never surveyed or brushed out this turnpike. He 
was one of the commissioners for the old State Road. 

Our turnpike was one hundred and twenty-six miles long. The in- 
dividual subscriptions to its construction were in total fifty thousand dol- 
lars, the State aid giving one hundred and forty thousand dollars. This 
was up to March, 1822. The finishing of our link in November, 1S24, 
completed and opened one continuous turnpike road from Philadelphia 
to Erie. Our part of this thoroughfare was called a " clay turnpike," 
and in that day was boasted of by the early settlers as the most con- 
venient and easy travelling road in the United States. That, in fact, 
anywhere along the route over the mountain the horses could be treated 
to the finest water, and that anywhere along the route, too, the traveller, 
as well as the driver, could regale himself "with the choicest Monon- 
gahela whiskey bitters," clear as amber, sweet as musk, and smooth as 
oil. 

" Immediately after the completion of the turnpike mile-stones were 
set up. They were on the right-hand side of the road as one travelled 
east. The stones when first erected were white, neat, square, and well 
finished. On each stone was inscribed, ' To S. 00 miles. To F. 00 miles.' 
Of course figures appeared on the stones where ciphers have been placed 
above. S. stood for Susquehanna, which is east, and F. for Franklin, 
which is west." 

Only the commonest goods were hauled into this country over the 
old State Road, and in the early days of the turnpike, Oliver Gregg, with 
his six horses, and Joseph Morrow, with his outfit of two teams, were 
regularly employed for many years in carrying freight from Philadelphia 
to this section. It took four weeks to reach here from Philadelphia, and 
the charge for freight was about six dollars per hundred pounds. A man 
by the name of Potter in latter years drove an outfit of five roan horses. 
Each team had a Conestoga wagon and carried from three to four tons of 
goods. 

THE TOLL-GATE. 

With the completion of the turnpike came the toll-gate. One was 
erected every five or ten miles. 

Gangs of men were kept busy constantly repairing the pike, and they 
were individually paid at these gates. The road was then kept in good 
condition. 



359 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"An Act to enable the Governor of this Commonwealth to incor- 
porate A Company for making an Artificial Road, by the Best 
AND Nearest Route, from Waterford, in the County of Erie, 
through Meadville and Franklin to the River Susquehanna, at 
OR near the Mouth of Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County. 
' ' Section 13. A?id be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the said company, having perfected the said road, or such part thereof, 
from time to time as aforesaid, and the same being examined, approved, 
and licensed as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for them to appoint 
such and so many toll-gatherers as they shall think proper, to collect and 
receive of and from all and every person and persons using the said road 
the tolls and rates hereinafter mentioned ; and to stop any person riding, 
leading, or driving any horse or mule, or driving any cattle, hogs, sheep, 
sulkey, chair, chaise, phaeton, cart, wagon, wain, sleigh, sled, or other 
carriage of burden or pleasure from passing through the said gates or 
turnpikes until they shall have respectfully paid the same, — that is to say, 
for every space of five miles in length of the said road the following sum 
of money, and so in proportion for any greater or less distance, or for 
any greater or less number of hogs, sheep, or cattle, to wit : For every 
score of sheep, four cents ; for every score of hogs, six cents ; for every 
score of cattle, twelve cents ; for every horse or mule, laden or unladen, 
with his rider or leader, three cents ; for every sulkey, chair, chaise, with 
one horse and two wheels, six cents ; and with two horses, nine cents ; 
for every chair, coach, phaeton, chaise, stage-wagon, coachee, or light 
wagon, with two horses and four wheels, twelve cents ; for either of the 
carriages last mentioned, with four horses, twenty cents ; for every other 
carriage of pleasure, under whatever name it may go, the like sum, ac- 
cording to the number of wheels and of horses drawing the same ; for 
every sleigh or sled, two cents for each horse drawing the same ; for 
every cart or wagon, or other carriage of burden, the wheels of which do 
not in breadth exceed four inches, four cents for each horse drawing the 
same ; for every cart or wagon, the wheels of which shall exceed in 
breadth four inches, and shall not exceed seven inches, three cents for 
each horse drawing the same ; and when any such carriages as aforesaid 
shall be drawn by oxen or mules, in the whole or in part, two oxen shall 
be estimated as equal to one horse ; and every ass or mule as equal to 
one horse, in charging the aforesaid tolls." 

completion of the turnpike. 
The first stage line was established over the Waterford and Susque- 
hanna turnpike from Bellefonte to Erie by Robert Clark, of Clark's 
Ferry, Pennsylvania, in November, 1824. It was called a Concord line, 
and at first was a tri-weekly. The first stage-coach passed through where 
Brookville now is about the 6th of November, 1824. In 1824 the route 

360 



PIOXEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUXTY, PENNA. 

was completed to Philadelphia, through Harrisburg, and was a daily 
line. 

" The arrival of the stages in old times was a much more important 
event than that of the railroad trains to-day. Crowds invariably gathered 
at the public houses where the coaches stopped to obtain the latest news, 
and the passengers were of decided account for the time being. Money 




was so scarce that few persons could afford to patronize the stages, and 
those who did were looked upon as fortunate beings. A short trip on the 
stage was as formidable an affair as one to Chicago or Washington is now 
by railroad. The stage-dris-ers were men of considerable consec^uence, 
especially in the villages through which they passed. They were in- 

21 .^6 1 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

trusted with many delicate missives and valuable packages, and seldom 
betrayed the confidence reposed in them. They had great skill in hand- 
ling their horses, and were the admiration and envy of the boys. Talk 
about the modern railroad conductor, he is nothing compared with the 
importance of the stage coach driver of sixty and seventy years ago 

"The traffic on the turnpike began, of course, at its completion in 
November, 1824. It increased gradually until it reached enormous pro- 
portions. A quarter of a century after the road had been built it arrived 
at the zenith of its glory." 

Pedlers of all kinds, on foot and in covered wagons, travelled the 
pike. From Crawford County came the cheese and white-fish pedler. 
Several people, including the hotel-men, would each buy a whole cheese. 

The pioneer inns or taverns in Jefferson County along this highway 
were about six in number. Five of the six were built of hewed logs, — 
viz.: one where Reynoldsville is; the Packer Inn, near Peter Baum's ; 
one near Campbell Run (Ghost Hollow) ; the William A'asbinder Inn ; 
lames Winter's tavern at Roseville ; and John McAnulty's inn, kept by 
Alexander Powers, where Corsica is now located. The Port Barnett Inn 
at this time was a " frame structure," as its picture represents. 

The early settlers along the pike east of Port Barnett were John and 
Rebecca Fuller in 1822, the Potters in 1824-25, Andrew McCreight 
and wife in 1832, Tilton Reynolds and wife in 1834, Valentine Smith 
in 1S35, Woodward Reynolds in 1S37, Thomas Doling, and others. 
These were all in what is now Wmslow township. West of Port Barnett 
the settlers along the pike were Moses Knapp, Joseph Kaylor, E. M. 
Graham, Alexander Powers, John Scott, Samuel D. Kennedy, Rev. 
William Kennedy, John Christy, and John Monks. Lee Tipton had a 
store in 1835 about where Corsica is. See chapter on my early " Recol- 
lections of Brookville, Pennsylvania." 

As Morrow, Gregg, and Potter carried our produce to the Lewistown 
market, I reproduce a market-table herewith : 

LEWISTOWN MARKET, I 83 7. 

Wheat flour per barrel $10.00 

Rye " " " 5.00 

Wheat grain per bushel 1.95 

Rye " " " 1. 00 

Corn " " " .70 

Oats " " " .40 

Potatoes " " .31 

Ham 12 

Butter .15 

Beeswax .20 

Timothy-seed per bushel 2.50 

Clover- " " " 7.00 

Flax- " " " 1.25 

362 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"An Act to authorize the Commissioners of Jefferson Couxtv to 
ALTER A Certain Part of the Susquehanna and Waterford Turn- 
pike Road. 

" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assemhlx met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the commissioners of 
Jefiferson County be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to 
lay out and make one mile and ten perches of turnpike road through the 
village of Brookville in said county, said road not to exceed five degrees 
from a horizontal line, and to be connected with the Susquehanna and 
Waterford turnpike road at both ends. 

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
as soon as the said road is finished, so much of the said Susquehanna and 
Waterford turnpike road as lies between the points of intersection afore- 
said may be vacated ; and the commissioners of said county are hereby 
authorized to draw their warrant on the treasurer of Jefferson County for 
the amount necessarily expended by them in making said road. 

" Section 3. A?id be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
from and after the ist day of April next it shall be the duty of the super- 
visors of the public highway in each and every township in the county of 
Jefferson to lay out and expend at least two-thirds of the amount of all 
the road taxes assessed each year in each and every township aforesaid, 
in opening and repairing the public highways within said township and 
county, on or before the ist day of October in each and every year. 

"Approved — the fourth day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty one. 

" George Wolf." 

This law authorized a change in the pike in Brookville from Jefferson 
Street to Main Street. The Commonwealth awarded the contract for 
this work to Thomas and James Hall, who completed the change. 

Stage-passengers' rights were guarded as herein by legal statutes. 

ACT OF MARCH 6, 1S20. 

"An Act relative to the Owners and Drivers of Public Stages 
and other Carriages for the Conveyance of Passengers, and 
for other Purposes. 

" Section j. From and after the ist day of July next, if the driver of 
any public stage, mail-coach, coachee, or carriage shall leave the same 
with the horses attached thereto, without some suitable person to take 
care of such horses, or securely fastening the same, such driver, and the 
owner or owners, or any of them, of such stage, mail-coach, coachee, or 
carriage shall for every such offence forfeit and pay any sum not less 

363 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

than ten nor more than fifty dollars, one moiety whereof shall go to 
the person giving information of the commission of such offence, and the 
other moiety to the stock of the county where such offence shall have 
been committed : Provided, That the party aggrieved shall have a right 
to appeal to the next court of common pleas of the county wherein the 
offence was committed. 

"Section 2. If any wagoner, carter, drayman, or driver of any 
stage, mail coach, coachee, or carriage shall wilfully and vexatiously ob- 
struct or delay any person or persons travelling on the public highways 
of this Commonwealth, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay 
the sum of twenty dollars, one-half whereof shall go to the person giving 
information of the commission of such offence, and the other moiety to 
the stock of the county where the offence shall have been committed. 

" Section 3. The said penalties may be recovered before any alder- 
man or justice of the peace, in the same manner as sums not above one 
hundred dollars are now by law recovered ; and in any suit or action 
brought to recover the same, the informer shall be a competent witness, 
leaving his credibility, as in other cases, to be judged of by the proper 
authority determining the same. And no such, suit or action shall be 
abated, nor a nonsuit therein ordered, on account of the names of all 
the owners of any such stage, mail-coach, coachee, or carriage not being 
embraced as defendants, but it shall be lawful to bring and sustain any 
such suit or action against any one or more of the said owners : Provided, 
That no such suit or action shall be brought against any person for the 
penalty incurred by a violation of the provisions of this act after the 
expiration of thirty days from the commission of the offence." '■''■ 



CHAPTER XXI. 

PIONEER COURT PIONEER JUDOES — PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATES PIONEER 

BAR AND EARLY LAWYERS MINUTES OF PIONEER SESSIONS OF COURT 

DECEMBER SESSION, 1830, AND FEBRUARY SESSION, 1 83 1 LIST OF 

RETAILERS OF FOREIGN MERCHANDISE IN THE COUNTY, FEBRUARY SES- 
SIONS, I 83 I EARLY CONSTABLES. 

The first legislation creating a judiciary in this State was called the 
provincial act of March 22, 1722. This court was styled "The Court 
of (Quarter Sessions of the Peace and Gaol Delivery." The Orphans' 
Court was established in 17 13. The constitution of 1776 provided for 
the continuance of these courts. By the constitution adopted in 1790 

* For turnpike, see my " Recollections of Brookville." 
364 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the judicial power of the State was vested in a Supreme Court, in a Court 
of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery, Common Pleas, Quarter 
Sessions, Orphans' Court, and Register Court for each county, and for 
justices of the peace for boroughs and townships. The early judges 
were appointed by the governor. 

In iSo6, for the more convenient establishment of the Supreme 
Court, the State was made into two districts, — viz., the Eastern and 
Western. Jefferson County was in the Western. 

By an act of the Legislature passed April 2, 1S30, Jefferson County 
was attached to the Eighteenth Judicial District. Thomas Burnside was 
appointed president judge, and John W. Jenks and Elijah Heath asso- 




Hon. Thomas Burnside, pioneer judge, 1S30-35. 

ciate judges. They were the pioneer judges of this county. The salary 
of an associate judge was one hundred and fifty dollars per year. 

Both the president judge of a district and the associate judges for a 
county were appointed in this State until 1S50, when the State consti- 
tution was changed to make them elective. The term of the president 
judge ran ten years, but the term of the associates was for five years. 

In 1835, Kurnside resigned and Nathaniel B. Eldred was appointed 
district judge. In a short time he resigned, when Alex. McCalmont was 
appointed and served ten years. Neither Burnside, Eldred, nor McCal- 
mont lived in Jefferson County. The president judge's salary was sixteen 
hundred dollars a year and mileage. 

The early associates, all of whom resided in the county, and whose 
service extended only until 1S44, were, — viz. : William Jack, Andrew 
Barnett, James Winslow, and fames L. Gillis. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The early local or home lawyers were Hugh Brady, Cephas J. Dun- 
ham, Benjamin PJartholomew, Caleb A. Alexander, L. B. Dunham, 
Richard Arthurs, Elijah Heath, D. B. Jenks, Thomas Lucas, D. S. 
Deering, S. B. Bishop, and Jesse G. Clark. Many very eminent lawyers 
from adjoining counties attended our courts regularly at this period. 
They usually came on horseback, and brought their papers, etc., in large 
leather saddle-bags. Most of these foreign lawyers were very polite 
gentlemen, and very particular not to refuse a "drink." 

The pioneer law student in the county was Lewis B. Dunham. He 
was admitted to the bar of the county at the September term, 1S35. It 
may be a matter of pride to recall the fact that Benjamin Bartholomew 
had a son born while living in Brookville, who became distinguished as 
one of the great orators of the State, the Hon. Linn Bartholomew. 

PIONEER SESSION DECEMBER SESSION, 1S3O HELD IN THE UPPER ROOMS 

OF THE OLD JAIL. 

" Minutes of a Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held 
at Brookville, for the county of Jefferson, on Monday, the sixth day of 
December, 1S30 : 

"Present, the Honorable Thomas Burnside, President, and John W. 
Jenks and Elijah Heath, Esquires, Judges of said Court. High Sheriff 
of Jefferson County, Thomas McKee. Constables, Alfred Cory, Con- 
stable of Young township, and Hulet Smith, Constable of Rose town- 
ship, sworn. 

"The Court order and direct that a (irand Jury of twenty-four and 
a Traverse Jury of thirty-six be summoned returnable to next term." 

The following-named gentlemen were admitted to practise law in the 
several courts of Jefferson County, and were all sworn and affirmed, — to 
wit : Thomas Blair, Thomas AVhite, George W. Smith, Josiah W. Smith, 
John Johnston, William Banks, and Hugh Brady, P>sq. December 7, 
Robert V.. Brown, Esq., admitted and sworn as an attorney of the several 
courts of Jefferson County. 

James ]\L Brockway appointed constable of Ridgeway township and 
sworn in open court ; Samuel Jones appointed constable of Pine Creek 
township and sworn in open court ; AVilliam Hopkins appointed constable 
of Perry township for the present year and sworn in open court. 

The following constables appeared and made their returns, — to wit : 
Alfred Cory, constable of Young township, and Hulet Smith, constable 
of Rose township. 

FEBRUARY SESSKINS, 183I. 

Cirand jurors for February sessions, 183 1. Thomas McKee, Esq., high 
sheriff of Jefferson County, returns his prcrcif^e to him directed and the 

.^,66 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

following- named persons for grand jury at February sessions, 1S31, — to 
wit : 

No. Name. Township. 

I Andrew Barnett Pine Creek. 

2 Jacob Shaffer Ridgeway. 

3 ........ . Aaron Fuller Rose. 

4 Samuel Jordan Perry 

5 Joseph Sharp Rose. 

6 John Welsh Rose. 

7 . . Andrew Bowers .... Young. 

8 William Summerville Rose. 

9 John Christy. 

10 Archibald Hadden. 

II Christ. Heterick. 

12 John H. AVise Rose. 

13 John INIillen Perry. 

14 Henry Walborn Ridgeway. 

15 Darius Carrier Rose. 

16 John McGiften Rose. 

17 Jacob Shillery Young. 

18 , . Clark Eggleston ■ Ridgeway. 

19 Joseph Bell Perry. 

20 John Hughes Rose. 

21 Jacob Hoover Young. 

22 Robert K. Scott Rose. 

23 William Love, Sr Rose. 

24 Thompson Barr Rose. 



COXSTAHLES' RETURNS FOR FERRUARY SESSIONS, 1 83 1. 

The following constables appeared and made their returns at Febru- 
ary sessions, 1S31, — to wit: Samuel Jones, Pine Creek township; Alfred 
Cory, Young township; William Hopkins, Perry township ; Hulet Smith, 
Rose township ; James Brockway, Ridgeway township. 

List of retailers of foreign merchandise in the township of Rose, re- 
turned at February sessions, 1S31, — to wit: William Douglass, Jared B. 
Evans, William Rodgers, Joseph Chambers, John Robinson, John Mc- 
Anulty, Sr., Andrew Yasbinder, John Eason, ^^'illiam Clark. 

"A list of retailers of foreign merchandise in the county of Jefferson, 
classified according to the act of Assembly in that case provided, — viz. : 
John W. Jenks, Sth class, Young township ; William Douglass, Sth 
class, Rose township; Jared B. Evans, Sth class. Rose township; John 
Smith &: Co., Sth class, Ruse township : William Rodgers, Sth class, Rose 
township; Joseph Chambers, Sch class, Rose township: John Robinson, 
Sth class, Rose township. 

"We, the undersigned Judges and Commissioners of Jefferson County, 

367 



riOXEER HISTORY OE JEEEERSOX COUXTV. PEXXA. 

do certify the foregoing to be a correct list as returned by the several 
Constables, given under our hands the 9th day of February, 1S31. 

" John W. Jenks, 
Elijah Heath, 

Judges. 
Thos. Lucas, 
Robert Andrews, 
Commissioners of Coiiutx.'" 

PIOXEER ADMISSIONS TO THE BAR FROjNI 1S30 TO 1S43 
The names of the members of the Jefferson County bar as they have 
been recorded on the annals of the court in the order in which they were 




Court- huu^e and lail, ii)96. 



admitted. Some of these attorneys were not residents of this county, but 
were admitted to this bar, and practised regularly in our courts. 

.,6S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ADMITTED AT DECEMBER TERM, 183O. 

"Thomas Blair, of Kittanning ; Thomas White, of Indiana ; George 
W. Smith, of Butler, for ten or fifteen years was afterwards president 
judge of this district; Joseph W. Smith, of Clearfield; John Johnston, 
of Clearfield ; William Banks, of Indiana, practised in this court for 
many years ; Hugh Brady ; Robert E. Brown, of Kittanning." 

FEBRUARY TERM, I S3 I . 

"Joseph Martin; William Watson, of Kittanning, Pennsylvania; 
Joseph Buffington, of Bellefonte, practised at this bar for many years ; 
was appointed president judge of this district, and afterwards served as 
member of Congress from this district." 

SEPTEMBER TERM, 1 83 I. 

"Cephas J. Dunham, of Brookville ; Ephraim Carpenter, of Indiana, 
came here for many years : Lewis W. Smith, of Clearfield, came here oc- 
casionally ; Benjamin Bartholomew, resided in Brookville a number of 
years, and represented the district in the Legislature in 1846. He removed 
from Brookville to Warren, and then to Schuylkill County, where he was 
afterwards district attorney. Hon. Linn Bartholomew, his son, was born 
in Brookville." 

DECEMBER TERM, 1S33. 

" Michael Gallagher, of Kittanning ; James McManus, of Bellefonte. " 

FEBRUARY TERM, I 834. 

" ^^'illiam F. Johnston, of Kittanning, practised regularly at this bar 
for many years : was afterwards governor of Pennsylvania." 

MAY TERM, 1S34. 

" C. A. .Alexander; James Pkirnside, of Bellefonte." 

FEBRUARY TERIM, 1 835. 

" Michael Dan McGeehan, of Ebensburg ; General William R. Smith, 
from the eastern part of the State, was only here once : removed to Du- 
buque, Iowa. " ' 

:\IAY TERM, 1S35. 

"Hiram Bayne, of McKean County, practised at this bar regularly 
for a number of years. He was engaged in the sale of lands, and was a 
member of the State constitutional convention of 1837." 

SEPTEMBER TERM, 1 835. 

"Lewis B. Dunham, of Brookville, was the pioneer man admitted on 
examination to the Jefferson County bar, and the pioneer law student in 

369 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the county. He practised here for a number of years, and then removed 
to the West, — Maquoketa, Iowa. Mr. Dunham did not practise his pro- 
fession at^er he left Brookville. He represented Iowa in the State senate. 
Stewart Steele, of Blairsville." 

DECEMBER TERM, 1S35. 

" Alexander McCalmont, of Franklin, practised for many years at this 
bar, and was president judge of the district. James Ross Snowden, of 
Franklin, a prominent attorney and politician, came here occasionally. 
Elijah Heath, of Brookville; David Barclay Jenks, of Brookville." 

SEPTEMBER TERM. 

" Richard Arthurs, of Brookville." 

SPRING TERM, 1S38. 

"Jesse G. Clark." 

SEPTEMBER TERM, 1S39. 

"John W. Howe, of Franklin, came here regularly for many years. 
He was a prominent attorney, and was elected member of Congress from 
his district. Thomas Struthers, of Warren, also came here regularly for 
many years." 

DECEMBER TERM, 1S39. 

" William M. Stewart, of Indiana." 

DECEMBER TERM, 1S40. 

"Thomas Lucas, of Brookville." 

SEPTEMBER TERM, 1S42. 

"J. W. INIcCabe. of Kittanning, came here a few times." 

FEBRU.-iRY TERM, I 843. 

" Carlton B. Curtis, of Warren, came here frequently; elected to the 
Legislature and Congress twice from the districts of which Jefferson 
County formed a part. Andrew Mosgrove, of Kittanning, came here 
occasionally." 

MAY TERM, I 843. 

" David S. Deering, of Brookville, read law, was admitted, and prac- 
tised at this bar for several years. He now resides in Iowa." 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
PIONEER LEGAL CARD AND NOTICE IN "THE JEFFERSONIAN." 



Cephas J. Dunham, 

Attorney at Law. 



OFFICE: 

PICKERING STREET, 

Brookville, Pa. 



April, 1S34. 

" TO THE PUBLIC. 

" This is to inform the public that I employed C. A. Alexander, Esq., 
attorney-at-lavv, to conduct a suit for me, for which he agreed to take two 
dollars, and took my note for the same, to be paid when I collected the 
money, in two or three weeks, the time not exactly remembered ; he kept 
the note and sued me on an account of three dollars for the same ser- 
vices, but only got judgment for two. If he has such an ambition for 
money the other lawyers will get my business. 

" Andrew Vastbinder. 
" Brookville, August i, 1834." 

PIONEER LAWS AND PIONEER HIGH^VAYS. 

Stewart H. Whitehill, Esq., of Brookville, Pennsylvania, has kindly 
prepared for me this summary of the pioneer laws specially enacted for 
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, and for Brookville, Pennsylvania ; also 
a summary of the pioneer laws pertaining to the townships and public 
highways of said county, as follows : 

COUNTY. 

March 26, 1804. — Jefferson County erected and boundaries named ; 
but by the same act annexed to Westmoreland County for judicial pur- 
poses. 

February j, 1806. — Authority of commissioners of Westmoreland 
County and other county officers of said county extended over and within 
the county district of Jefferson. 

February 24, 1806. — Jefferson County placed in the Western District 
for the Supreme Court, and the State divided into ten judicial districts, 
the counties of Somerset, Cambria, Indiana, Armstrong, and Westmore- 
land comprising the tenth. 

March 10, 1806. — Jefferson County annexed to the county of In- 
diana, and the authority of the county commissioners and other county 
officers of said Indiana County to extend over and within the county of 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Jefferson. It remained thus annexed to Indiana County for all purposes 
until 1S24, and for judicial purposes until 1830. 

Marc/i ji, 1806. — Jefferson County made into a separate election 
district, elections therein to be held at the house of " Joseph Barnett, on 
Sandy Lick, in said county." 

March 21, 180S. — Jefferson County placed in a Senatorial District, 
composed of the counties of Armstrong, Indiana, and Jefferson, the return 
judges thereof to " meet at the house occupied by Widow Elder, in Black- 
lick township, Indiana County." 

By the same act Jefferson County placed in a State Representative 
District, composed of the counties of Armstrong, Jefferson, and Indiana, 
the return judges of which were to meet at the house of Absalom Wood- 
ward in Armstrong County. 

March 20, 1812. — Jefferson County placed in the Eleventh Congres- 
sional District, composed of the counties of Westmoreland, Armstrong, 
Jefferson, and Indiana. 

March 14, 18 14. — Authority granted for the subdivision of Jefferson 
County into six districts, for the election of justices of the peace. 

March 8, 1815. — Jefferson County placed in the Sixteenth Senatorial 
District, composed of the counties of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Jef- 
ferson, the return judges thereof to meet at the house of John Kelly, in the 
town of Newport, in Blacklick township, Indiana County. 

By the same act Jefferson County was placed in a State Representa- 
tive District, along with Armstrong and Indiana Counties, the three 
counties being entitled to two members, and the return judges were to 
meet at the house of Absalom Woodward, in Indiana County. 

182J. — The Milesburg and Smethport Turnpike Road Company, 
authorized " for the purpose of making a turnpike road from Milesburg 
in Centre County, past Karthaus in Clearfield County, and Smethport in 
McKean County, to the New York line," and Jonathan Colgrove, Paul 
E. Scull, John King, and Joseph Otto, of McKean County; Peter A. 
Karthaus, of Clearfield County ; James L. Gillis, of Jefferson County ; 
John Mitchell and Roland Curtin, of Centre County ; (ieorge Vaux and 
Simon Gratz, of the city of Philadelphia, appointed commissioners to 
solicit subscriptions for said road, which passed through Ridgeway, then in 
the county of Jefferson. Notice of the time and place when and where 
books to be opened to receive subscriptions of stock to be published in 
the Bellefonte Patriot and the Lycoming Gazette, and one paper pub- 
lished in the city of Philadelphia. Upon subscription of twenty or more 
persons, representing six hundred or more shares of twenty dollars each, 
the governor to incorporate the company, which was to have power to 
erect and maintain toll-gates upon and across said turnpike, as will be 
seen by the following section of the act : 

" SEcriox 13. — And be it fiirtlicr enacted l>\ tite autliority aforesaid, 

372 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

That whenever and as often as the said company shall have finished five 
miles or more of said road the president thereof may give notice to the 
governor, who shall thereupon forthwith appoint three skilful, judicious, 
and disinterested persons to view and examine the same and report on 
oath or affirmation to him whether the road is so far executed in a com- 
petent and workmanlike manner, according to the true meaning and 
intent of this act ; and if their report shall be in the affirmative, then the 
governor shall, by license under his hand and seal of the State, permit 
and suffer said company to erect and fix such and so many gates or turn- 
pikes upon and across the said road as will be necessary and sufficient 
to collect from all persons travelling the same, otherwise than on foot, 
the same tolls which are hereinafter authorized and granted : Provided, 
That all persons attending funerals, military parades, or trainings or 
divine worship on the Sabbath-day shall at all times be exempt from the 
payment of any toll on said road." 

1828. — "A Supplement to the Act entitled 'An Act author- 
izing THE Governor to incorporate the jMilesburg and Smeth- 
port Turnpike Road Company.' 

" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Cominomvealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the governor be and is 
hereby authorized and rei]uired to subscribe twenty thousand dollars, in 
shares of twenty dollars each, to the stock of the INIilesburg and Smeth- 
port Turnpike Road Company ; and as soon as any five miles of the 
road shall be completed, it shall be the duty of the governor to draw his 
warrant on the State treasurer for a sum in proportion to the whole dis- 
tance, and a like sum for every five miles, until the whole sum shall be 
drawn : Provided, That previous to any payment from the treasury satis- 
factory evidence shall be furnished to the governor that sums equal at 
least in amoui\t to the sums drawn from the treasury shall have been paid 
by individual stockholders and expended agreeably to the provisions of 
the twelfth section of the act incorporating the said turnpike road com- 
pany, passed the eleventh day of April, one thousand eight hundred and 
twenty-five: And Provided further, That there shall not be more than 
five thousand dollars of the aforesaid sum of twenty thousand dollars 
drawn from the said treasury in any one year. 

"Approved — the second day of February, a.d. one thousand eight 
hundred and twenty-eight. 

" J. Andw. Shulze." 



373 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

183 1. — " A Further Supplement to the said Act incorporating said 

Turnpike Road Company, being the Second Section of the 

Act of the 4TH Day of April, a.d. 1831, as follows: 

"Section 2. And be if furtlier enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the proceedings which are authorized by the thirteenth section of 
the act entitled ' A Further Supplement to the Act entitled An Act 
authorizing the GoYernor to incorporate the ]Milesburg and Smethport 
Turnpike Road Company,' passed eleventh day of April, one thousand 
eight hundred and twenty-five, and a supplement to the said act, passed 
the second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
eight, in cases when the said company shall have finished five miles or 
more of said road, be and the same are hereby authorized and extended 
to portions less than five miles of said road, which are and shall hereafter 
be finished as aforesaid." 

1836. — A further supplement authorizing the State to subscribe five 
thousand dollars additional stock in said turnpike. 

March 24, 18 ij. — The county having been divided into two election 
districts, — Pine Creek and Perry, — the latter declared a separate election 
district by act of Assembly, — elections therein to be held at the house of 
John Bell, of said township. 

April 22, 1822. — Jefferson County placed in the Seventeenth Con- 
gressional District, composed of the counties of ^Vestmoreland, Indiana, 
and Jefferson. 

December 2j, 1822. — Sales of unseated lands in Jefterson County for 
taxes authorized. 

January 21, 1824. — Election of county commissioners and county 
auditors first authorized; and when elected, to "hold their office and 
transact the public business at such places as shall be determined upon 
by a majority of the commissioners first elected until the seat of justice 
is ascertained." 

1826. — County commissioners of the provisional county of Jefferson 
to draw their warrants on the county treasurer for expenses of laying out 
roads, criminal prosecutions, and all other costs and expenses incidental 
to said county ; and the authority of the county commissioners of Indiana 
County over Jefferson County to cease. 

1826. — One-half of all road taxes received by the treasurers of Jeffer- 
son and McKean Counties from unseated lands to be applied for seven 
years to the improvement of the "leading roads" in said counties; and 
C. C. (Jaskill and James Gillis, of Jefferson County, and Jonathan Col- 
grove and Paul E. Scull, of McKean County, appointed commissioners 
to expend said fund in the "making, clearing, and opening" of said 
" leading roads." 

1828. — The above act repealed as to Jefferson County. 

374 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

April lo, 1826. — Young township having been erected, now made a 
separate election district, — elections therein to be held at the house of 
Elijah Heath, in Punxsutawney. 

April 16, 182^. — Ridgeway township, of Jefferson County, having 
been formed, the same is now made into a separate election district, — 
elections to be held at the house of James Gallagher in said township. 

April i^, 1828. — Rose township having been erected, the same is 
now declared a separate election district, — elections therein to be held 
at the house of John Lucas, in said township. 

March j, 18 2g. — An act to encourage the destruction of foxes and 
wild-cats, awarding a bounty of thirty-seven and a half cents on the scalp 
of every fox produced, and one dollar on the scalp of every wild-cat. 

April 8, i82g. — John Mitchell, of Centre County ; Alexander ]\Ic- 
Calmont, of Venango County ; and Robert Orr, of Armstrong County, 
appointed to meet at the house of Andrew Barnett, of Jefferson County, 
and from thence to view, select, and " determine the most eligible and 
proper situation for the seat of justice for the said county of Jefferson . " 

April 2, i8jo. — "An Act to organize the Provisional County of 
Jefferson for Judicial Purposes. 

'• Section i. Be if enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Conutiofizoealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first 
day of October next the inhabitants of the county of Jefierson shall 
enjoy all and singular the jurisdictions, powers, rights, liberties, and 
privileges whatsoever within the same which the inhabitants of other 
counties of this State do, may, or ought to enjoy by the laws and consti- 
tution of this Commonwealth. 

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That 
the county of Jefferson shall be attached to and form a part of the Fourth 
Judicial District, until otherwise ordered by law, and that the judges of 
the Supreme Court, and the president of the Fourth Judicial District, 
and the associate judges to be appointed in the said county of Jefferson, 
shall have like powers, jurisdictions, and authorities within the same, as 
are or may be warranted to and exercised by the judges in the other 
counties of this Commonwealth, and the said county of Jefferson is hereby 
annexed to the Western District of the Supreme Court of this Common- 
wealth. 

" Section 3. And be it further enacted ly the authority aforesaid, That 
the citizens and inhabitants of the said county of Jefferson, who are or 
shall be qualified to vote agreeably to the Constitution and laws of this 
Commonwealth, shall at the first general election, to be held on the 
second Tuesday in October next at their respective election districts, 
choose two fit persons for sheriffs, two for coroners, and all other officers 



PIONEER HIST(JRY OF JEFFERSON C(JUNTV, PENNA. 

necessary to be elected for the said county of Jefferson in the same 
manner and under the same rules, regulations, and penalties as by the 
laws of this Commonwealth similar officers are chosen in other counties, 
and said officers when chosen as aforesaid and duly qualified to enter on 
the duties of their respective offices shall have and enjoy all and singular 
the powers, authorities, privileges, and emoluments in or any way arising 
out of their respective offices, in and for the county aforesaid, as fully as 
such officers are entitled to in any other county within this Common- 
wealth ; and it shall and is hereby declared lawful for all the public 
officers of the said county of Jefferson, from and after the first day of 
October next, to do, perform, and exercise all the duties of their respec- 
tive offices in as full and ample manner as if the several courts should be 
opened on that day by the president and judges of the same, and any 
process that may issue returnable to the first term in said county shall 
bear test as of the first day of October next. 

" Section 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Courts of Common Pleas and General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, 
and Orphans' Court for the county of Jefferson shall, from and after the 
first day of October next, commence and be holden on the first Monday 
after the courts in Clearfield County. 

" Section 5. And be it further enacted by the aut/iority aforesaid, That 
all suits which shall be pending and undetermined in the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas of Indiana County on the first day of October next, when the 
defendant or defendants in such suit or suits shall at that time be resident 
in Jefferson County, shall be transferred to the Court of Common Pleas 
of Jefferson County, and shall be considered as pending in said court, 
and shall be proceeded on in like manner as if the same had been 
originally commenced in said court, except that the fees thereon, due to 
the officers in Indiana County, shall be paid to them v.-hen recovered by 
the prothonotary or sheriff of Jefferson County, and the prothonotary of 
Indiana County shall procure a docket and copy therein all the docket 
entries respecting the said suits to be transferred as aforesaid, and shall 
on or before the fourth Monday in November next have the said docket, 
together with the records, declarations, and other papers respecting said 
suits, ready to be delivered to the prothonotary of Jefferson County, the 
expense of said docket and copying to be paid by the prothonotary of 
Jefferson County, and reimbursed by the said county of Jefferson on 
warrants to be drawn by the commissioners of Jefferson County on the 
treasury thereof. 

" Section 6. And be it further enacted b>y the authority aforesaid, That 
it shall and may be lawful for the commissioners of Jefferson County, 
and they are hereby required, as soon as they may deem it expedient, to 
erect or cause to be erected on such part of the public square in the town 
of Brookville as they may deem best suited thereto a court-house, and 

376 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

offices for the safe-keeping of the papers and records of the said county, 
and until such court-house is erected the courts of justice shall be opened 
and held in such house in said county as the judges and commissioners 
may obtain for that purpose. 

" Section 7. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the sheriff, coroner, and other public officers of Indiana County shall 
continue to exercise the duties of their respective offices within the 
county of Jefferson until similar officers are appointed and elected agree- 
ably to law within and for the said county of Jefferson. 

" Section 8. And be it further enacted by the autliority aforesaid, That 
the sheriffs and coroners of the said county of Jefferson before they enter 
on the duties of their offices shall give security in like sums as similar 
officers do in the county of Indiana and in the same manner, and under 
the restrictions as similar officers are compelled to do in the several 
counties of this Commonwealth. 

" Section 9. And be it further enacted by the autliority aforesaid, That 
the seat of justice for the county of Jefferson shall be, and the same is 
established and confirmed at the mouth of the North Fork of Sandy Lick 
Creek, in the county of Jefferson, and it shall be the duty of the com- 
missioners of said county to demand and receive from John Pickering, 
Esq., a sufficient deed or deeds in fee-simple, in trust to them and their 
successors in office for the use of said county, for all the lands or lots 
which the said John Pickering, Esq., has agreed to give for the purpose 
of aiding in the erection of public buildings, agreeably to the act of the 
General Assembly of the eighth day of April, a.d. one thousand eight 
hundred and twenty-nine, entitled ' An Act authorizing the Appointment 
of Commissioners to fix a proper Site for the Seat of Justice in Jefferson 
County, and also for one Public Square in the said Town of Brookville 
for the purpose of erecting Public Buildings thereon,' and the said com- 
missioners shall procure the said deed or deeds when recorded in the 
office for the recording of deeds in the county of Indiana, to be recorded 
in the proper books directed to be kept for the county of Jefferson, and 
the said commissioners and their successors in office, or a majority of 
them, shall and are hereby authorized to sell and dispose of the said lands 
or lots aforesaid, and to make and execute deeds to the purchasers, and 
the moneys arising from such sales shall be by them applied to the erec- 
tion of public buildings for the use of the said county of Jefferson. 

"Section 10. And be it fuj-tiier enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the said commissioners shall, as soon as may be, proceed to lay out 
the said town of Brookville, and file a draught and return of the survey 
of the said town, together with the proceedings under and by virtue of 
this act, in the office for the recording of deeds in and for the county of 
Jefferson, and an exemplification of the same shall be evidence in all 
matters of controversy touching the same. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

"Approved — the second day of April, a.d. one thousand eight hun- 
dred and thirty. - Geo. Wolf." 

1S31. — An act relieving the prothonotary, register, and recorder of 
Jefferson County from payment of State tax on his fees and commissions, 
and refunding all such taxes already paid by him. 

i8ji. — Commissioners of Jefferson County authorized to alter the 
location of, and to lay out and make one mile and ten perches of, the Sus- 
quehanna and Waterford turnpike, where it passes through the village of 
Brookville. 

j8ji. — Township supervisors of Jefferson County authorized and re- 
quired to expend at least two-thirds of the annual road tax in the repair 
and improvement of the public roads of their respective townships, on or 
before the ist day of October in each and every year. 

Februarx 7, i8j2. — Boundary line between Jetterson and Venango 
Counties fixed, Richard Irvin, Esq., having run and marked the same 
" to the entire satisfaction of both counties." 

i8jj. — Jefferson County placed in the Eighteenth Judicial District 
bv section 8 of the act of 1833, which reads as follows : 

'■'■ And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and 
after the first day of September, Anno Domini one thousand eight hun- 
dred and thirty-five, the said county of Potter, and the counties of 
McKean, Warren, and Jefferson, shall be formed into a separate judicial 
district, to be called the Eighteenth District, and a person of integrity, 
learned in the law, shall be appointed and commissioned by the governor 
to be president and judge of the Courts of Common Pleas within the said 
district, which president shall receive the like salary, and have and exe- 
cute all and singular the powers, jurisdictions, and authority of president 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Court of Oyer and Terminer and 
General Jail Delivery, Orphans' Court, and justice of the Court of Quar- 
ter Sessions of the Peace, agreeably to the constitution and laws of this 
Commonwealth. The courts in Potter County shall be held on the first 
Mondays of February, May, September, and December of each year; the 
courts in McKean County on the first Monday after those in Potter 
County ; the courts in Warren County on the first Monday after the courts 
in McKean County; and the courts in JefTerson County on the first 
Monday after the courts in Warren County, the courts in each county to 
continue one week if necessary." 

i8j4. — Recognizances and bonds of the sheriff of Jefferson County 
fixed at $7 000. 

183s . — Courts of Jefferson County authorized to be held on the second 
Mondays of February, May, September, and December. 

/(5'jj. — Wheat, rye, and corn flour, designed for exportation as a 
product of Jefferson County, to be stamped. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

iSjg. — An act authorizing one person to hold and exercise the several 
offices of prothonotary. clerk of the courts, register, and recorder in the 
county of Jefferson. This act remained in force until 1S93. 

1840. — Commission appointed to run and mark the division line be- 
tween the counties of Jefferson, Warren, McKean, and Clearfield, consist- 
ing of Jonathan Coalgrove, of the county of McKean, Elijah Heath, of the 
county of Jefferson, and John S. Brockway, of the county of Clearfield. 

1840. — An act to encourage the destruction of wolves and panthers, 
giving a bounty of twenty- five dollars on wolves and sixteen dollars on 
panthers. Repealed in 1S41. 

1841. — An act requiring township elections in the county of Jefferson 
to be held on the second Tuesday of February, annually. 

1842. — -Township elections to be held on the fourth Monday of Feb- 
ruary, annually. 

1842. — County commissioners of Jefferson County authorized to issue 
orders to supervisors on county treasurer for road taxes collected on un- 
seated lands, and prescribing the form thereof. 

1842. — JefTerson County commissioners authorized to issue orders on 
county treasurer for school taxes collected on unseated lands in favor of 
the school treasurers of the respective townships, and the form thereof 
prescribed. 

184J. — Act granting premiums on destruction of wild-cats and foxes 
repealed as to Jefferson County. 

184J. — Mechanics' lien law extended to Jefferson County. 

184J. — Elk County erected out of parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and 
McKean Counties. Timothy Ives, Jr., of Potter County: James AV. 
Guthrie, of Clarion County ; and Zachariah H. Eddy, of ^Varren County, 
appointed commissioners to "ascertain and plainly mark the boundary 
lines of said county of Elk." 

By same act, Jefferson County to receive and provide for all Elk 
County prisoners for three years, or until Elk County erects a jail. 

184J. — Jefferson County placed in the Twenty-third Congressional 
District, composed of the counties of Erie, Warren, McKean, Clarion, 
Potter, and Jefferson. 

184J. — Jefferson County placed in the Twenty- eighth Senatorial Dis- 
trict, composed of the counties of Warren, Jefferson, Clarion, McKean, 
and Potter. Same act places Jefferson, Clarion, and Venango Counties 
together in one legislative district, and authorizes the three counties to 
elect two members. 

1844. — Supplement to the act erecting Elk County, regarding the 
bringing of suits, liens, revival of judgments, and the issuing of execution 
writs, etc. 

184J. — All expenses for laying out and opening roads in Jefferson 
County to be paid out of the road funds of the several townships through 

379 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

which the same may pass. All expenses for the election of township offi- 
cers in said county to be paid out of township rates and levies. Super- 
visors in the county of Jefferson required to give bond in double the 
amount of the sum assessed for road purposes ; and township auditors, 
within ten days after settlement with supervisors, to file a copy of said 
settlement with the clerk of the quarter sessions. 

184^. — An act authorizing but three road and bridge viewers in Jef- 
ferson County, and requiring all to view. 

1846. — Certain deeds made and improperly executed by Jefferson 
County commissioners legalized. 

BROOKVILLE BOROUGH. 

i8jo. — County commissioners authorized to lay out the town, and 
limits thereof defined by courses and distances. 

i8j4. — Borough incorporated. Election of borough officers author- 
ized, and Thomas Hastings and Jared B. Evans, Esqs., to publish notice 
"and see to the opening of the election." 

i8jj. — Manner and time of electing constable for Brookville pre- 
scribed. 

1831. — Six school directors to be elected in the borough on the first 
Monday of January annually. 

i8jy. — Brookville to have and own the school taxes assessed against 
its own citizens by Rose township. 

18 j8. — Brookville Academy established " for the education of youth 
in the English and other languages, and in the useful arts, sciences, and 
literature, under the care and directions of six trustees and their suc- 
cessors in office." The six trustees first appointed were C. A. Alexander, 
Thomas Hastings, John J. Y. Thompson, Levi G. Clover, John Pearce, 
and Richard Arthurs. By same act the State appropriated $2000 to said 
Brookville Academy. 

i8j8. — Brookville Female Seminary authorized and established, and 
Andrew Barnett, Thomas Hastings, Levi G. Clover, William Jack, Elijah 
Heath, C. A. Alexander, John Bell, Charles K. Barclay, and John W. 
Jenks appointed trustees. 

1841. — County commissioners authorized to subscribe S500 to the 
Brookville Academy. Three trustees thereafter to be elected annually 
" by the qualified voters of the county." 

1842. — After payment of the ^$500 to the Brookville Academy, to be 
subscribed and paid by the county, trustees of the said academy to be 
elected by the voters of the whole county. 

1842. — Brookville borough to elect two constables and one assessor 
annually. 

1843. — Voters of fefferson County not to vote for trustees until the 

380 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

county commissioners have subscribed and paid the aforesaid S500 here- 
tofore authorized to be subscribed. 

184J. — Borough officers to be elected on the first Monday of March 
annually. 

184J. — Market, Water, Jefferson, and Church Streets, of the borough 
of Brookville, authorized. 

TOWNSHIPS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

1804. — Pine Creek was the original township, coextensive with the 
county as erected in 1S04. 

PERRY. 

1817. — Perry township made a separate election district, and elections 
therein to be held in the house of John Bell in said township. 

1826. — Elections in Perry township to be held at the house of Jacob 
Heterick in said township. 

i8jo. — Auditors of Young and Perry townships authorized to audit 
and settle the accounts of John Yan Horn as supervisor of Perry town- 
ship previous to its division into the said townships of Perry and Young, 
and to apportion the balance found due him between the said townships. 

i8sj. — Elections in Perry township to be held at the house of William 
Stunkard in said township. 

1842. — Perry township divided into two school districts, — Perry and 
Whitesville. 

YOUNG. 

1826. — Young township to hold its elections at the house of Elijah 
Heath, in the town of Ptmxsutawney. 

RIDGEWAY. 

i82~. — Ridgeway township made a separate election district, and 
elections to be held at the house of James Gallagher. 

ROSE. 

1828. — Rose township made a separate election district, and elec- 
tions to be held at the house of John Lucas in said township. 

i8j4. — Rose township elections to be held at court house, Brook- 
ville, Pennsylvania. 

i8j6. — Rose township divided for election purposes, the western end 
thereof to hold its elections at the house of Darius Carrier. 

18 j8. — Rose township again divided for election purposes by a dif- 
ferent line from that established by the act of 1S36; but both parts of 
the township were required to vote at Brookville. This was very un- 
satisfactory, and so in 1840 this act of 1S38 was repealed by a revival of 
the act of 1S36, permitting again the western end of the township to vote 

38 1 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEF'FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

at the house of Darius Carrier, the site of which is now, in 1S97, within 
the limits of the borough of Summerville. 

i8j8. — Boundaries of Rose township determined and fixed, extend- 
ing to the Armstrong County line. 

1842. — Rose township elections to be held at the court-house in the 
borough of Brookville. 

BARNETT. 

i8j2. — Barnett township elections to be held at the house of John 
Wyncoop in said township. 

i8jj. — Barnett township elections to be held at the house of Alexan- 
der Murray in said township. 

VOUNG. 

18 j8. — Young township divided for election purposes by an east and 
west line, and all electors north of that line to hold their elections "at 
the Paradise School- House, near Jacob Smith's, in said district." 

ELDRED. 

i8j6. — Eldred township declared a separate election district, and elec- 
tions to be held at the house of James Linn in said township. 

SNYDER. 

i8jj. — Snyder township declared a separate election district, and 
elections to be held "at the house of John McLaughlin on the Brockway 
road in said township." 

i8j8. — Elections in Snyder township to be held on the third Tuesday 
of February, instead of the first Friday of March. 

1842.- — Elections in Snyder township to be held at the house of 
James M. Brockway in said township. 

WASHINGTON. 

18 j8. — Washington township declared a separate election district, 
and elections therein to be held at the house of John Mcintosh in said 
township. 

JENKS. 

i8j8. — Jenks township in Jefferson County declared a separate elec- 
tion district, and elections therein to be held at the house of Cyrus 
Blood in said township. 

I'DRIER. 

1840. — Porter township declared a separate election district, and elec- 
tions therein to be held at the house of Henry Freese in said township. 

CLOVER, 

1842. — Clover township elections to be held at the house of Darius 
Carrier, in the village of Troy in said township. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

GASKILL. 

1842. — Elections in Gaskill township to be held at the house of 
Henry Miller in said township. 

1844. — Elections in said township to be held at "Miller's District 
School- House." 

WARSAW. 

1842. — AVarsaw township declared a separate election district, and 
elections therein to be held at the house of William Weeks in said town- 
ship. 

TIONESTA. 

18 j8. — Tionesta township, in Jefferson County, declared a separate 
election district, and elections therein to be held at the house of John 
Noeff in said township. 

1844. — One-fourth of the road taxes levied and collected in Tionesta 
township, in the county of Jefferson, to be applied annually for six years 
to repairs and improvement of the Warren and Ridgeway turnpike. 

HIGHWAV.S OF JEFFERSON COUNTY AS MADE BY ACT OF 
ASSEMBLY. 

i~g8. — Red Bank Creek declared a public highway from its mouth to 
the "second great fork," which is the North Fork. 

181"^. — One thousand dollars appropriated by the State " for the pur- 
pose of improving the navigation of Red Bank Creek from the mouth 
thereof as far up as it is declared navigable." 

1820. — Sandy Lick Creek declared a public highway up to Henry 
Nulf's saw mill in the county of Jefferson. 

I7g8. — Toby's Creek, now Clarion River, declared a public highway 
from its mouth up to the second great fork thereof. 

181J. — Two hundred dollars appropriated by the State " for the pur- 
pose of improving the navigation of Toby's Creek." 

1808. — Big Mahoning declared a public highway from its mouth up to 
the mouth of Canoe Creek, and permission given and regulated to erect 
dams in said creek. 

18 ij. — Appropriation by the State of $Soo " for the purpose of re- 
moving obstructions in Big Mahoning Creek, and improving the navi- 
gation of the same between the mouth of Little Mahoning and the 
confluence of said creek with the river Allegheny." 

i8jj. — Big Mahoning Creek declared a public highway from the 
mouth of Canoe Creek to the forks of Stump Creek in Jefferson County. 

184^. — Incorporation of the Mahoning Navigation Company author- 
ized, and J. W. Jenks, William Campbell, and James Torrence appointed 
commissioners to procure books, solicit subscriptions, and organize the 
company. 

383 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1812. — Incorporation of the Susquehanna and Waterford Turnpike 
Company authorized. ( Governor of Pennsylvania to subscribe 3125,000 
in the stock of said road. 

1814. — Supplement to said act extending the time for subscriptions 
to the stock of said company three years from the 22d of February, 1S15. 

1818. — Supplement extending the time five years from March 20, 
181S. 

1821. — Governor of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the State, authorized 
to subscribe s 15,000, in addition to the amount before subscribed, to the 
vSusquehanna and Waterford Turnpike Company. By a report made in 
the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, March 23, 1822, it appears 
that the contemplated length of this road was one hundred and twenty- 
six miles, one hundred and seventeen of which were completed at that 
date. About twenty six miles of this turnpike were laid out within the 
limits of the county of Jefferson. 

i8j8. — Susquehanna and ^^'aterford Turnpike Road Company author- 
ized to open their road one hundred feet wide through marshy places, 
"so as to let the light and air upon the same." 

OLEAN ROAD. 

i8ig. — This State road was authorized by the following act of As- 
sembly : 

"An Act authorizing the Governor to appoint Commissioners for 

THE purpose of LAYING OUT A StATE RoAD FROM THE ToWN OF KlT- 
TANNING to THE StaTE IjNE, IN DlRAECTIOX TO THE VILLAGE OF 

Hamilton, in the Township of Olean, in the State of New 
York, and also from Milesburg in Centre County to Clarion 
River in Jefferson County. 

" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of tlie ConinionivealtJi of Pennsylvania in General Assenildy met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the governor be, and is 
hereby authorized and required to appoint three commissioners, one of 
whom shall be a practical surveyor, to view, mark, and lay out a State 
road from the town of Kittanning, in the county of Armstrong; thence 
on the nearest and best route to the State line, on a direction to the vil- 
lage of Hamilton, on the Allegheny River, in the township of Olean, in 
the State of ^qw York ; and the commissioners so appointed shall pro- 
ceed to perform the duties required of them by this act on or before the 
first Monday in June next, and shall make out and deposit a copy of the 
draft of said road in the office of the clerk of the Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions in each county through which said road shall pass, and the said 
clerks shall enter the same in their respective offices, which shall be a 
record of said road ; and from thenceforth the said road shall be, to all 

3'^4 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

intents and purposes, a public highway, and shall be opened and kept in 
repair in the same manner as roads laid out by order of the Court of 
Quarter Sessions of the county through which said road passes." 

Section 2 provides for the oath of the commissioners, their pay, and 
the settlement of their accounts. 

Sections 3 and 4 pertain only to the other State road mentioned in 
the title of the act. 

'•'Approved — the twenty-third day of INIarch, one thousand eight 
hundred and nineteen." 

1821. -Appropriation of SSooo to the Olean road by the nineteenth 
section of "An Act for the Improvement of the State," which reads as 
follows : 

" Section 19. And be it further enacted by tJie authority aforesaid, That 
the sum of eight thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated 
for the opening and improving a State road, recently laid out from the 
town of Kittanning in Armstrong County to the State line, on a direction 
to the village of Hamilton, in the State of New York, which passes through 
Armstrong, Jefferson, and McKean Counties, to be expended in the said 
counties through which said road passes in proportion to the distance 
it passes through the same respectively. And the governor is hereby 
authorized to draw his warrant on the State treasurer in favor of the 
following named persons — that is, for that part of the said road which 
lies in Armstrong County in favor of David Lawson and James Cochran, 
Armstrong County ; and for that part of said road which lies in Jeffer- 
son County in favor of John Sloan, Jr., of Armstrong County, John 
Matson, and John Lucas, of Jefferson County : and for that part of said 
road that lies in McKean County in favor of Brewster Freeman and Jo- 
seph Otto, of McKean County, who are hereby appointed commissioners 
to receive and expend the said sum in opening and improving the said 
road within the limits of the counties to which they are appointed to 
superintend, etc. 

" x^pproved — March 26, 1S21." 

iSig. — State road from Kittanning to the mouth of Anderson's 
Creek, in Clearfield County, authorized by 

"An Act to authorize the Governor to appoint Commissioners to 
LAV OUT A State Road from the Town of Kittanning in a Direc- 
tion TO the Mouth of Anderson's Creek. 

" Section i. Be it enacted l)y the Senate and House of Representatii'es 
of the CommonwealtJi of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby etiacted by the authority of the same, That the governor is, and he 
is hereby authorized to appoint three commissioners, one of which shall 
be a practical surveyor, to view, mark, and lay out a State road from the 

385 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

town of Kittanning, thence by the nighest and best route on a direction 
towards the mouth of Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County, to inter- 
sect a road from Bellefonte to Erie. And the commissioners so ap- 
pointed shall proceed to perform the duties of their appointment at such 
time as the governor shall direct. And they shall make out and deposit 
a draft of said road in the office of the clerk of the Court of (Quarter 
Sessions in each county through which said road shall pass, and the said 
clerks shall enter the same in their respective offices, which shall be a 
record of said road, and from thenceforth the said road shall be to all 
intents and purposes a public highway, and shall be opened and kept in 
repair in the same manner as roads laid by order of the Courts of Quarter 
Sessions of the counties through which said road passes. 
"Approved — January 27, 1819." 

1821. — Appropriation of 52500 to the State road from Kittanning to 
Anderson's Creek, Clearfield County, by " An Act for the Improvement 
of the State." 

' ' Section 18. And be it fii}-t]icr enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby 
appropriated for the purpose of opening and improving a State road re- 
cently laid out from the mouth of Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County, 
to the town of Kittanning, in Armstrong County, which passes through 
the counties of Clearfield, Jefferson, Indiana, and Armstrong, to be e.K- 
pended in the same counties through which said road passes in proportion 
to the distance it passes through the same, and the governor is hereby 
authorized to draw his warrant on the State treasurer in favor of the fol- 
lowing-named persons, — that is, for that part of said road which lies in 
Armstrong County in favor of James Hannagan and Joseph Marshall, 
of Armstrong County ; for that part of said road which lies in Indiana 
County in favor of James McComb and William Travis, of Indiana 
County ; for that part of said road lying in Jefferson County in favor of 
Charles C. (iaskill and Carpenter \Vinslow, of Jefferson County; and for 
that part lying in Clearfield County in favor of David Ferguson and 
Moses Boggs, of said county, who are hereby appointed commissioners 
to receive and expend the said sum in opening and improving the said 
road within the limits of the counties to which they are appointed to 
superintend, and the said commissioners shall each be entitled to receive 
as a full compensation one dollar and fifty cents per day for every day 
they shall be necessarily employed in performing their respective duties. 

"Approved — March 26, 1S21." 

182^. — State road from Warren to P)rookville authorized. 
i82j. — "State road from Indiana through Punxsutawney, in the 
county of Jefferson, and Smethport, in the county of MrKean, to the 

3S6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

town of Ceres, in said county of AIcKean," authorized, and Meek Kelly, 
of Indiana County, John Sloan, Jr., of Armstrong County, and Charles 
C. (raskill, of Jefterson County, appointed commissioners to view, lay 
out, and mark the same. 

1826. — Warren and Jefferson County Turnpike Road Company author- 
ized "■ for the purpose of making a turnpike road from the town of War- 
ren, in Warren County, to the Susquehanna and Waterford Turnpike, at 
or near the bridge over the north fork of Sandy Lick Creek, in Jefferson 
County," and Joseph Hackney, John Andrews, and Archibald Tanner, 
of Warren County ; Thomas Lucas, Charles C. Gaskill, and John Matson, 
of Jefterson County, appointed commissioners to solicit subscriptions and 
organize the company. 

1826. — An act to improve the leading roads in McKean and Jefterson 
Counties. 

1826. — Clearfield and Jefferson Turnpike authorized, and Charles C. 
Gaskill, Dr. John W. Jenks, Andrew Barnett, and Thomas Lucas, of the 
county of Jefferson ; and Greenwood Bell, John Irvin, David Ferguson, 
and Alexander B. Read, of Clearfield County, appointed commissioners 
to procure books and solicit subscriptions for said road, and generally to as- 
sist in the organization of the company, to be known as " The President, 
Managers, and Company of the Clearfield and Jefferson Turnpike Road." 

1826. — Sandy Lick or Red Bank Creek declared a public highway 
from the eastern boundary of Jefterson County to its mouth, for the 
passage of descending boats, rafts, etc. ; and permission granted, and 
regulations prescribed, for the erection of dams in said creek. 

1828. — Little Toby's Creek, in the counties of Clearfield and Jeffer- 
son, from the mouth of John Shafter's mill-run, on the main branch of 
Toby's Creek, and from the forks of Brandy Camp (or Kersey Creek) to 
the Clarion River, declared a public highway for the passage of rafts, 
boats, and other craft, and permission given to erect and regulate dams 
on said creek. 

^^33- — North Fork Creek, in Jefferson County, from its mouth to 
Ridgeway, declared a public highway. 

183 -f.. — State road from Kittanning to Brookville authorized, and John 
Sloan, Jr., Alexander Duncan, and James Corbett appointed commission- 
ers to view and lay out the same. 

i8jj. — Commissioners appointed to lay out State road from Kit- 
tanning to Brookville: William Jack, John Cribbs, Jr., and Robert 
Richards. 

i8j8. — Luthersburg and Panxsutawney Road Company authorized, 
'^' for the purpose of making a turnpike from the town of Punxsutawney, 
in the county of Jefferson, to the town of Luthersburg, in Clearfield 
County," and Lebbeus Luther, John Jordan, Benjamin Bonsall, David 
Irvin, Jacob Flick, Benjamin Carson, David Hoover, David Henny, and 

3S7 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSOX COUNTY, PENNA. 

Jeremiah Miles, of the county of Clearfield ; William Campbell, Charles 
R. Barclay. Charles C. Gaskill, James Winslow, James W. Bell, and John 
Hoover (miller), of the county of Jefferson, appointed commissioners to 
solicit subscriptions for stock, and generally to assist in the organization 
of the company to be known as '-The Luthersburg and Punxsutawney 
Road Company." 

i8j8. — The governor of Pennsylvania authorized and required to sub- 
scribe S4000 to the Luthersburg and Punxsutawney Turnpike Company 
"if incorporated the present session." 

iSjo. — State road from ^Yarren to Ridgeway's settlement, in Jefier- 
son County, authorized, and Robert Falconer, John Andrews, and Lan- 
sing Witmore, of Warren County, and Reuben A. Aylsworth, and Enos 
Cjillis, of Jefferson County, appointed commissioners to lay out the same. 

iSji. — Company organized and incorporated to build said road, 
called the Warren and Ridgeway Turnpike Road Company. " The said 
commissioners are hereby authorized to employ one surveyor, whose com- 
pensation shall not exceed one dollar and fifty cents per day, and two 
chain-bearers and one axe-man, at per diem allowance, not exceeding 
one dollar per day, and one packer and pack-horse, if necessary, for 
which a reasonable allowance shall be made. Further, that the compen- 
sation of the said commissioners shall be one dollar and fifty cents each 
for every day they may be necessarily employed by virtue of this act." 

iSj6. — In consideration of privileges granted by the State to the State 
bank, it was authorized and required to pay S5000 to this Warren and 
Ridgeway Turnpike Road Company. 

i8j8. — Governor of Pennsylvania authorized to subscribe S2000 stock 
in said Warren and Ridgeway Turnpike Road Company. 

1842. — Having completed forty miles of the Warren and Ridgeway 
turnpike road, said company was authorized to demand, receive, and 
collect tolls thereon 

1844. — The managers and stockholders of the Warren and Ridgeway 
Turnpike Road Company having abandoned the same, it was enacted 
that one half of the road taxes levied in the township of Sheffield, and 
one-fourth of the road tax levied in the township of Kinzua, in the 
county of Warren ; one-fourth of the road tax levied in the township of 
Tionesta, in the county of Jefferson ; one- fourth of the road tax levied in 
the township of Ridgeway, and one-eighth of the road tax levied in the 
township of Jones, in the county of Elk, should, for a period of six years, 
be paid and expended by Richard Dunham and Erastus Barnes, of the 
county of Warren, and Joseph S. Hyde, of the county of Elk, commis- 
sioners, to the best advantage, in repairing, mending, and improving 
said turnpike road through the counties of Warren, Jefferson, and Elk. 

i8ji. — Armstrong and Clearfield turnpike road authorized to com- 
mence at Kittanning, pass through Punxsutawney. and to end at the 

388 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

mouth of Anderson's Creek, in Clearfield County. Thomas Blair, Jacob 
Pontius, and Joseph Marshall, of Armstrong County ; Charles C. Gaskill, 
and John W. Jenks, of Jefferson County; John Ewing and Henry Kin- 
ter, of Indiana County ; David Ferguson and John Irvin, of Clearfield 
County ; and William A. Thomas and Hardman Phillips, of Centre 
County, were appointed commissioners by said act to solicit subscrip- 
tions, give notice of organization of company, etc. 

i8j8. — Governor of Penns}lvania authorized and required to sub- 
scribe S5600 to said Armstrong and Clearfield Turnpike Road Company. 

1S44. — Time for the completion of the said Armstrong and Clearfield 
turnpike road e.xtended for the term of ten years from .April 16, 1S44. 

iSj^. — State road from the mouth of Little Bald Eagle Creek, in 
Huntingdon County, through Clearfield County, to Punxsutawney, in 
Jefferson County, authorized, and James Winslow, of Jefferson County ; 
Elisha Fenton, of Clearfield County; and Benjamin Johnson, of Hunt- 
ingdon County, appointed commissioners to lay out the same. 

i8jj. — Supplement extending time for making out drafts of location 
of said State road from Little Bald Eagle Creek to Punxsutawney. 

18 j^. — State road authorized from the settlement on the head- waters 
of Millstone Creek, in Jefferson County, to the State Road leading from 
the Clarion River bridge, on the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike, 
in the county of Venango, at or near the farm of Peter AValley, Jr., and 
James Gillis and \\'illiam Armstrong, of Jefferson County ; and David Rey- 
ner, of A'enango County, appointed commissioners to lay out the same. 

i8jj. — State road from Shippenville to Ridgeway, in Jefferson 
County, authorized, and Daniel Rhyner and James Hasson, of A^enango 
County ; and ^^'illiam Armstrong, of Jefferson County, appointed commis- 
sioners to view, lay out, and mark the same. 

i8j8. — State road from Brookville to Tionesta authorized, and 
James Huling and Richard Irvin, of Venango County, and Philip G. 
Clover, of Jefferson County, "appointed commissioners to view, lay out, 
locate, and mark the same by the nearest and best route." 

1840. — Incorporation of the Armstrong, Jefferson, and Clearfield 
Turnpike Company authorized, to begin "at the northern termination 
of the Freeport and Kittanning turnpike road, on the top of the Mahoning 
hills, and continue by the most practical route, via the borough of Brook- 
ville, in Jefferson County, and the Brandy Camp, to the Milesburg and 
Smethport turnpike road, at or near Ridgeway, in Jefferson County. By 
same act James Kerr, Hance Robinson, Jacob Miller, of the county of 
Armstrong; and Hiram Wilson, William Jack, John Dougherty, and 
Jacob Shaffer, of the county of Jefferson ; and Isaac Horton, Daniel 
Oyster, Lriah Rodgers, and Jonathan Nichols, of the county of Clear- 
field, were appointed commissioners to solicit subscriptions and organize 
the company. 

389 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1840. — State road from Ebensburg to Punxsutawney authorized, to 
begin "at the town of Ebensburg, in Cambria County; thence by the 
nearest and best route to the Cherry Tree ; thence by the nearest and best 
route to the town of Punxsutawney, Jefferson County;" and Stephen 
Lloyd and James Rhey, of Cambria County ; James Bard, of Indiana 
County ; David Ferguson, of Clearfield County ; and James Winslow, of 
Jefferson County, appointed commissioners to view, lay out, and mark 
the same. 

April 2, 1841. — Time for completing the survey and location of State 
road from Ebensburg to Punxsutawney extended one year from April 2, 
184 1, and Stephen Lloyd, John B. Douglass, of Cambria County; 
Richard Bard, of Clearfield County ; William Thompson, of Indiana 
County ; and James Winslow, of Jefferson County, appointed commis- 
sioners in place of those named in the act originally authorizing the road. 

May J, 1841. — Original act authorizing the State road from Ebens- 
burg to Punxsutawney revived, "and William Thompson, of Indiana 
County; Richard Bard, of Clearfield County; and Stephen Lloyd, John 
B. Douglass, and James Rhey, of Cambria County, appointed commis- 
sioners to carry the provisions of the said act into execution." 

1842. — Chutes of dams on the Red Bank and Sandy Lick Creek to be 
twenty feet long for every one foot high. 

jg^i, — Jefferson County commissioners authorized to subscribe stock 
in the Mahoning Mouth Bridge Company " such number of shares as they 
may deem right and proper." 

jg^2. — State road from Cherry Tree in Indiana County to Clarion 
authorized, and David Peelor, Heth F. Camp, and John Decker, of 
Indiana County; John Sloan, Jr., Peter Clover, Jr., of Clarion County ; 
and Robert Woodward, of Armstrong County, appointed commissioners 
to view and lay out the said State road, which was to begin at " Cherry 
Tree in Indiana County, and to intersect the Susquehanna and Water- 
ford Turnpike at or near the town of Clarion, in Clarion County, by 
the nearest and best route between the said points." 

184J. — Time for executing and returning drafts of the survey of this 
State road from Cherry Tree to Clarion extended one year, and Henry 
Freese, of Jefferson County, added to the board of commissioners. 

184J. — State road from Brookville to Ridgeway by way of the mouth 
of Little Toby authorized. 

184J. — State road from Elderton to Punxsutawney authorized, and 
Thomas Armstrong, of Elderton; Peter Dilts, of Mahoning, Indiana 
County; and William Campbell, of Jefferson County, "appointed com- 
missioners to view and lay out the road from Elderton, in Armstrong 
County, to Punxsutawney, in Jefferson County, by way of Plumville, in 
Indiana County, by the nearest and best route from point to point." 

1844. — The county commissioners of the several counties through 

39^ 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

which the State road from Elderton by way of Plumville to Punxsutaw- 
riey was laid out authorized and required to settle the accounts of the 
commissioners viewing and laying out said road. 

1844. — State road from the borough of Warren, in Warren County, 
to the borough of Brookville, in Jefferson County, authorized, and 
Henry G. Sergeant and Orin L. Stanton, of Warren County; and Samuel 
Findley, of Jefferson County, appointed commissioners to view and lay 
out the same ; drafts of the location of said State road to be made and 
deposited "in the office of the clerk of the court of the respective 
counties in which said road may be laid out." 

1846. — Act relating to dams and obstructions in the Clarion River. 

1846. — State road from Smicksburg, Indiana County, to the borough 
of Brookville, Jefferson County, authorized, and Hugh Brady, Levi G. 
Clover, of Jefferson County ; and Cieorge Bernard, of Indiana County, 
appointed commissioners to view and lay out the same "on the nearest 
and best route, to a straight line, and in no place to exceed an elevation 
of five degrees." 

Viewers required to make draft and file copy of same in both counties, 
and courts of the respective counties authorized to fill vacancies occurring 
in the board of commissioners. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE PIONEER PHYSICIAN IX THE COUNTY, DR. JOHN W. JENKS, OF PUNX- 

SUTAWNEY THE PIONEER PHYSICIAN OX THE LITTLE TOBY, DR. 

NICHOLS OTHER EARLY PHYSICIANS, DR. EVANS, DR. PRIME, DR. 

DARLING, DR. BISHOP, DR. A. M. CLARKE, DR. JAMES DOWLING, DR. 

WILLIAM BENNETT PIONEER MAJOR OPERATION IN SURGERY IN 1821 

EARLY RIDES, FEES, ETC. 

In 1 8 18, Dr. John W. Jenks came from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 
and settled in what is now Punxsutawney, where he built a cabin, made 
improvements, and reared a family. He was quite a prominent man, 
and filled positions of profit and trust. He was one of the first associate 
judges, and father of Judge W. P. Jenks, Hon. G. A. Jenks, and Mrs. 
Judge Gordon. 

The pioneer physician and pioneer clergyman to settle in the Little 
Toby Valley was the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Nichols, who died in 1846, 
aged seventy-one. His wife, Hannah, died in Brookville in 1859, aged 
eighty-two years. 

Rev. Dr. Jonathan Nichols migrated from Connecticut, and settled 
on Little Toby, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, in the year 1818. He 
was a preacher and a doctor. He was the first minister to preach reg- 

391 



PIONEER HISTORY ^ OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

ularly in this county ; also the pioneer physician in the northern part. 
The date of Dr. Nichols's first settlement in this wilderness was in 1S12, 
on the Sinnamahoning. Dr. Nichols was a regularly educated physician, 
but, being of a very pious turn of mind, he studied and was ordained a 
Baptist minister. One who knew him well wrote of Dr. Nichols, — viz. : 
" He was a generous, kind-hearted gentleman, genial and urbane in his 
manners, with a helping hand ready to assist the needy, and had kind 
words to comfort the sorrowing. As a physician his visits were required 
over a large extent of the county. As a clergyman his meetings were 
well attended by the people." 

PIONEER MAJOR SURGICAL OPERATION. 

Moses Knapp moved to what is now called Baxter in the spring 
of 1 82 1, and while cutting timber he got a foot and leg crushed so 
that his limb had to be amputated above the knee. Dr. Stewart, of 
Indiana, and Dr. William Rankin, of Tricking, now Clarion County, 
performed the amputation in the summer of 1S21. Knapp that year 
was constable, having been elected in the spring election. 

Prior to 1S25, Dr. R. K. Scott settled on what is now the Cowan 
farm, a little east of Roseville. The doctor was a pleasant, intelligent 
gentleman, and at one time was in the newspaper business. Where he 
removed to I do not know. 

About the year 1831, Dr. Alvah Evans came to Brookville and opened 
an office for practice. He remained but a few months. 

In the spring of 1832, Dr. G. C. M. Prime came to Brookville and 
commenced the practice of medicine. Dr. Prime was a man of skill. 
He amputated the arm of Henry (Hance) Vasbinder. Inflammation 
and gangrene in the arm, caused by a bite on his thumb while fighting, 
made this amputation necessary. Dr. Prime left Brookville in 1S35. 

In June, 1833, Dr. Geo. Darling (father of the late Paul Darling) 
came from Smithport, IMcKean County, Pennsylvania, and located in 
Brookville. In 1S43, ^^- Darling left Brookville and located in Ohio. 
He was a well-bred, intelligent, educated physician. 

In the summer of 1835, Rev. G. Bishop, M.D., located in Brookville, 
both preaching and practising medicine. He preached regularly to the 
Presbyterians of Beechwoods, Brookville, and where Corsica now stands. 

In the spring of 1836, Dr. A. M. Clarke (who read and practised 
under Dr. Nichols) located in Brockwayville and commenced to practise 
for and by himself. Dr. Clarke was born in Granby, Connecticut, in 
1808. His father was Philetus Clarke, who came into this wilderness in 
1 8 19. After a long and useful life Dr. Clarke died. May 2, 1S84, leav- 
ing a family and his aged wife, /lec' Rebecca M. Nichols. The following 
tribute was paid him at his death by a literary friend, Eugene Miller, 
Esq., — vi/. : 

392 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Deceased was intellectually a remarkable man. Denied the advan- 
tages of Avealth and education, he became not only a learned and skilful 
physician, but a literary man of high order. Books were the mine in 
which he delved, and from their pages he brought forth jewels of infor- 
mation and thought most rare. He loved poetry with an ardor words 
cannot express, and was not only familiar with the leading poets of the 
past and present, but was himself the author of a number of fragments, 
which show him to have been possessed of a poetic fire that, in the 
hands of one less modest and unassuming than he ever proved himself to 
be, would have made him an enduring name. His qualities of heart 
were no less choice than were those of his head. He was generous to a 
fault, and as meek and gentle as a child. Nothing seemingly gave him 
more pleasure than to do good to his fellow-men, and many there are 
who have partaken bountifully of his store. In the sick room his pres- 
ence was always a sweet solace, and his delicate touch almost as soothing 
as a narcotic. In the social circle he was ever popular, the diversity of 
his knowledge and the easy flow of his language rendering him a delight- 
ful companion. As a man and citizen he was highly respected, as was 
proved by the spontaneity with which his neighbors gathered about his 
grave and dropped a tear to his precious memory. His death, like his 
life, was peaceful, and the name he leaves behind is as pure as the lily 
and as fragrant as the rose." 

Dr. James Dowling came from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 
1841, and located in what is now called Baxter. In 1843 ^^ removed to 
Brookville. In 1844 he was elected a member of the Legislature. Dr. 
Dowling was a little man in stature, but a " big man in head and brain." 
He was greatly in advance of the many theoretical, narrow-minded, 
bigoted doctors of his time. He was popular in his manner and pleasing 
in his address. His practice was extensive and his reputation great. I 
remember his many kind acts to me, and I cherish his memory. He 
died December, 1S60. 

Dr. William M. Bennett was married to a Miss Orilla Ralston, of 
Angelica, Alleghany County, New York, about the year iSiS or 1819. 
He lived a short time where the city of Bradford now stands. He emi- 
grated with his family to Jefferson County early in the year 1843, ^^^d 
settled on the Little Toby, in Snyder township, three miles below Brock- 
wayville, where he built a saw-mill and engaged in the practice of his 
profession. Dr. Bennett was not a highly educated man, but he had a 
wonderful fund of common sense, and in his career of physician was 
popular, successful, and useful. In his treatment of diseases he was far 
in advance of what was then called science in medicine. He died Octo- 
ber II, 1S75, ^^''d ^^'^s buried at Temple's graveyard, Warsaw township, 
this county. 

The pioneer and early doctor was a useful citizen, and his visits to the 
26 393 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

early settlers when afflicted was a great comfort. How we all long now 
to see the doctor when we are sick I These isolated people longed just 
the same for the coming of their doctor. The science of medicine then 
was very crude, and the art of it very imperfect, hence the early practi- 
tioner had but limited skill, yet while exercising whatever he professed 
for the relief of suffering, his privations and labor while travelling by 
night or day on horseback with his " old pill-bags" were hard and severe 
in the extreme. The extent of his circuit was usually from fifty to one 
hundred miles over poor roads and paths, swimming his horse through 
creeks and rivers as best he could. I have travelled a circuit of one hun- 
dred miles in my day. In those days every one had respect for the doc- 
tor, and every family along his circuit was delighted with an opportunity 
to extend/ref hospitality to the doctor and his horse. 

In some of my long rides I have become so tired about midnight that 
I felt I could not go a step farther, when I would dismount from my 
horse, hitch him on the outside to a log of a log barn, slip the bridle 
around his neck, climb into the mow, throw the horse an armful of hay, 
and then fall asleep in the hay, only to awaken when the sun was an hour 
or two high. The pioneer doctor carried his pill-bags well stocked with 
calomel, Dover's powder, tartar emetic, blistering salve, a pair of old 
turnkeys for extracting teeth, and a spring and thumb lance for bleeding 
purposes, as everybody had to be bled, sick or well. Twenty- five cents 
was the fee for bleeding, and the amount of blood drawn from the arm 
was from half a pint to a quart. The custom of bleeding sick or well 
fell into disrepute about 1850. A town visit was from twenty-five to fifty 
cents, a visit in the country twenty-five cents a mile, an obstetric fee five 
dollars. The pioneer doctor always wore green leggings or corduroy 
overalls. I w^as no exception to this rule. 

THE PIONEER MEDICAL SOCIETY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENN- 
SYLVANIA. 

On July 3, 1S57, a call was published in the Jefferson Sf(rr by Drs. A. 
P. Heichhold and J. G. Simons for the physicians of Jefferson County 
"to meet at the court-house in the borough of Brookville, on the loth 
of July, 1857, at 10 o'clock a.m.," to organize a medical society. 

The call was responded to, and below I give the minutes of the meet- 
ing as published in the SAir of July 17, 1857 : 

" In compliance with a call to the members of the medical profession 
in Jefferson County, a meeting was held in Brookville and a county med- 
ical society was formed with the following members, — viz. : Drs. C. P. 
Cummins, Mark Rodgers, Charles Baker, A. J. Johnston, R. B. Brown, 
VV. J. McKnight, D. A. Elliott, J. G. Simons, and A. P. Heichhold. 

" The meeting was organized by calling Dr. M. Rodgers to the chair, 
and Dr. A. P. Heichhold was appointed secretary/;-^' /e/fi. 

394 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"Dr. Simons was then called on to state the object of the meeting, 
which he did in a neat and appropriate manner. 

" The following resolution was then offered : ' Resolved, That in con- 
sequence of the indisposition of a portion of the members of the profes- 
sion to the formation of a medical society, we deem it inexpedient to 
organize one at this time,' which was rejected, and a committee was then 
appointed to draft a constitution, and the society was organized perma- 
nently. The following officers for the ensuing year were then elected : 
President, Rev. Dr. C. P. Cummins ; A'ice-Presidents, Drs. A. J. Johns- 
ton, M. Rodgers ; Secretary, D. A. Elliott ; Treasurer, Dr. A. P. Heich- 
hold ; Censors, Dr. A. P. Heichhold, J. G. Simons, A. J. Johnston. 

The society then adjourned to meet at the court-house, in Brookville, 
on Tuesday, the 2Sth day of July, at 7.30 p.m. 

" C. P. Cummins, 

" President. 
" A. P. Heichhold, 

''Secretary:' 

In this same issue of July 17 the following official notice was pub- 
lished : 

'^ A meeting of the Jefferson County Medical Society will be held in 
the court-house, in the borough of Brookville, on Tuesday evening, the 
2Sth instant, at 7.30 o'clock p.m. An address will be delivered by the 
Rev. Dr. C. P. Cummins, the president of the society. The ladies and 
gentlemen of Brookville and vicinity are respectfully invited to attend. 

" D. A. Elliott, 

" Secretary :' 

" Of this lecture the >%?/■ says, in an editorial of July 31, 1857, — 

" CouxTV Medical Society. — This body held a public meeting in 
the court-house on Tuesday evening last, which was addressed by Rev. 
C. P. Cummins, M.D. The remarks of the Rev. Dr. are highly ex- 
tolled by those who had the pleasure of being present. The society met 
next morning at Dr. Heichhold's office for the transaction of business. 
We are glad to observe a great interest manifested in its proceedings by 
the physicians of the county." 

The above address was published in full in the Star. The next meet- 
ing was publicly announced by the secretary " for September 14, at 7.30 
o'clock. Dr. J. G. Simons will deliver an address, to hear which the 
ladies and gentlemen of Brookville and vicinity are invited to attend." 

Of the members of the county medical society formed forty years 
ago in Brookville but two are now living, — viz.. Dr. Charles Baker and 
the writer. 

395 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

PIONEER TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS AND PIONEER TAXABLES. 

PINE CREEK. 
Created in iSo6 by an act of Assembly, and embraced all the county. 

COMPLETE TAXABLE LIST IN PINE CREEK TOWNSHIP (tHIS COUNTY) 
FOR THE YEAR 1S07. 

Joseph Barnett, farmer and distiller ; John Dickson, weaver ; Elijah 
M. Grimes, laborer ; Lewis Heeb, farmer ; Peter Jones, blacksmith ; 
John Jones, farmer ; Moses Knapp, farmer ; Samuel Lucas, tailor ; 
Thomas Lucas, farmer, and grist- and saw-mill ; William T^icas, tailor; 
Ludwig Long, farmer and distiller ; Alexander McCoy, farmer ; Jacob 
Mason, laborer ; Stephen Roll, cooper ; Daniel Roadarmil, farmer ; John 
Scott, Sr., farmer ; Samuel Scott, miller, saw- and grist-mill ; John Scott, 
Jr., farmer; Adam Vastbinder, farmer; Jacob Vastbinder (single man), 
farmer ; John Vastbinder (single man), laborer ; Fudge Van Camp 
(colored), farmer. Number of horses, 23; number of cows, 35. 

PERRY. 

Formed in iSiS, and was taken from Pine Creek. Perry township as 
originally organized was bounded on the north by Pine Creek township, 
on the west by the Armstrong County line, on the south by the Indiana 
line, and on the east by the Clearfield County line. 

PIONEERS IN PERRY TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN l8lS. 

Names of Taxables. — Jesse Armstrong, John Bell, Esq., James W. 
Bell (single man), Joseph Bell (single man), John Bell (single man), 
Elijah Dykes, Benjamin Dykes, Archibald Hadden, Jacob Hoover, 
David Hamilton, Elizabeth McHenry, James Hamilton (single man), 
Adam Long, Michael Lantz, Henry Lott, Stephen Lewis, Isaac Lewis, 
Jacob Lane, James McClelland, David Milliron, Hugh McKee, James 
Hutchison, John Postlethwait, David Postlethwait (single man). Porter 
Reed, John Piper, James McKee, Thomas Page, Samuel States, James 
Stewart, John Stewart, James Wachob. 

YOUNG. 
Young township was organized in 1826, and was taken from Perry. 
It was bounded on the east by the Clearfield line, on the south by the 
Indiana line, on the west by Perry, and on the north by Pine Creek 
township. 

396 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

PIONEERS IN YOUNG TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S26. 

jVa/nes of Taxables. — Jesse Armstrong, John Archibald, David Burk- 
hart, Andrew Bowers, Rev. David Barclay, house and lot in Punxsutaw- 
ney, two-thirds of a grist-mill and two-thirds of a saw-mill ; John Bowers, 
Philip Bowers, John Buck, Andrew Bowman, house and lot; Charles B. 
Barclay, house and lot; James Black, house and lot; Daniel Coffman, 
Charles Clawson, Matthias Clawson, Abraham Craft, James Caldwell, 
Benijah Corey, John Corey, house and lot ; Isaac Carmalt, house and lot ; 
Nichols Dunmire, Adam Dunmire, Daniel Graffius, Charles C. Gaskill, 
house and lot ; Samuel Ganor, John Henderson, house and lot ; Henry 
Hum, John Hum (single man), Jacob Hoover, one grist-mill ; John 
Hoover, William Hemmingray, John Hess, house and lot in Long's 
Town; John Hutchison, Elijah Heath, house and lot; John W. Jenks, 
one third of a grist mill, one-third of a saw-mill, one bull ; Adam Long, 
Joseph Long, house and lot ; Adam Long, cooper ; Francis Leach, 
George Leach, Isaac Lunger, Obed Morris, Joseph Potter, Frederick 
Rinehart, Christian Richel, Samuel Steffy, James Smith, Samuel States, 
Nathaniel Tindall, house and lot; James Williams, Benoni Williams, 
Ira White, James Winslow, Carpenter Winslow, Sr., Carpenter Winslow, 
Jr., Ebenezer Winslow, Charles Winslow, Reuben Winslow, Caleb \\'ins- 
low (single man), Thomas Wheatcraft, William Webster, .Abraham Weaver, 
house and lot; George Weaver (single man), Parlin White. 

RIDGEWAY. 

Organized in 1826, and was taken from Pine Creek. Ridgeway 
township was bounded on the east by McKean County line, on the north 
by the Warren County line, on the south by the Clearfield County line, 
and on the west by Pme Creek township. 

PIONEERS IN RIDGEWAY TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESS.MENT IN 1S27. 
SEATED LIST. 

A'ames of Taxables. — Aylesworth & Gillis Co., one grist- and saw- 
mill ; James Brockway, Collins Brooks (single man), Naphtalia Burns, 
Nehemiah Bryant, Sampson Crooker, Clark Eggleston, Henry Francis 
(single man), Enos Gillis, James Gallagher, Joseph P. King, George 
March (single man), William Maxwell (single man), Harvey B. Moor- 
house (single man), James McDougal, Lorenzo Preaket (single man), 
Jacob Shaffer, John Stratton, William Taylor, Jacob Taylor (single 
man), Alanson Vial, Henry \Valborn. 

ROSE. 

Organized in 1S27, and was taken from Pine Creek. Rose township 
was bounded with Pine Creek on the east. Young and Perry on the south. 

397 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

PIONEERS IN ROSE TOWNSHIP, AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S27. 

A'a//n's of Taxables. — Robert Andrews, Johns Avery ^: Caleb 
Howard, one saw-mill, trade ; Christopher Barr, Joseph Barnett, one 
saw- mi 11 ; John Barnett, David Butler, one-half of a saw-mill ; Nathaniel 
pjutler, Alonzo Baldwin, Lorenzo Brooks (single man), Euphrastus 
Carrier (single man), Christian Conrad, John Coon, one half of a saw- 
mill ; John Christy, James E. Corbett, William Cooper, James Crow 
(single man), Samuel Kennedy, Joseph Clements, W. B. Clements, 
George Crispen, James Divin, trade; Samuel Davidson, Robert Dixon, 
John Dixon, William Douglass (colored), George Eckler, Henry Feye, 
Sr., Henry Feye, Jr., Samuel Feye, William Guthrie, John Fuller, trade; 
Elijah jNI. Graham, William Graham, Himes, one-half of a saw- 
mill; Frederick Heterick, one saw-mill; James Hall (single man), John 
Horam, Moses Knapp, Samuel Knapp, one saw- and grist-mill; Robert 
Knox, John Kelso, John Kennedy, Joseph Keys, Matthew Keys (single 
man), Henry Keys (single man), William Long (single man), John 
Lucas, William Love, Sr., William Love, Jr. (single man), John Love 
(single man), Thomas Lucas, one-half of a saw-mill, land; John Latti- 
mer, one-half of a sawmill; John Long, Alex. Lyons, Henry Lot, one 
saw-mill ; Peter Lot, Daniel Long, William Lattimer, Isaac Matson, 
John McGiffin (single man), A\'illiam Morrison, Samuel Magill, Isaac 
McElvaine, Abraham Milliron, Jacob Mason, Benjamin Mason (single 
man, Joseph McCullough, John Matson, John Mcintosh, John McGhee, 
trade ; Timothy Nightingale, P. B. Ostrander, Alexander Osburn, James 
Parks, grist mill ; Alexander Powers, Isaac Packer, William Rodgers, 
Hance iRobinson, one-half of a saw-mill; David Roll, one saw-mill; 
Joshua Rhea, Thomas Robinson, Robert Smith, James Shields, trade; 
John Shields, Peter Slogerbuck, Samuel Stiles, Michael Shadle, Heulet 
Smith, Andrew Shippen, Charles Sutherland (colored), Robert K. Scott, 
Joseph Sharp, Walter Templeton, Joshua Vandevort, Jesse Vandevort, 
Jacob Vastbinder, Adam Vastbinder, William Vastbinder, Henry ^^ast- 
binder, Andrew Vastbinder, Hugh Williamson, John Welsh, house and 
lot in Troy; John Walters, Beach AVayland, Patience Wheeler, John 
Webster (single man), Peter Walters, Robert Weir, Daniel Yeomans, 
William McDonald, Nathan Carrier, \\'illiam Mendenhall, Alexander 
Scott, lienjamin Sies, Joseph Hastings, Robert Tweedy, James Sharp, 
Nicholas Sharp, Joseph Butler, Jeremiah McCallester, Samuel Rhodes, 
fohn Hayes, John Scott (single man), Samuel Johns, Robert Maxwell. 

UARNETT. 
Organized in 1S33, and was taken from Rose. Barnett originally 
contained Jenks and I'ionesta townships and all that part of Jefferson 
County lying north of the Clarion River. In 1S3S the tw^o above-men- 
tioned townships were organized out of it. 

39« 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

PIONEERS IN EARNETT TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S33. 

N'aincs of Taxablcs. — William Armstrong iS: Co., one saw-mill ; Luther 
Barns & Co., Israel Ball, Warren Barns (single man), John Cook, one 
saw-mill ; Job Carr, Nathan l\: Elijah Tipps, David Meads, Thaddeiis 
Meads, Erastus Gibson, William Manross, one saw-mill ; David Reynolds, 
John Wyncoop, two saw-mills; John Mays, James W. Mays, Smith heirs, 
one saw-mill ; Alexander Murray, Thomas B. Mays, Thomas Fords, fohn 
A. Kramer, John Fitzgerald, Smith N. Myers, James Orwin, William 
Beer, William Thomas, George e\: Samuel Armstrong, Ebenezer Kingly, 
William Gordon, William Forsythe. 

SNYDER. 
Organized in 1S35, and was taken from Ridgeway and Pine Creek. 
Snyder township was bounded on the east by Clearfield County line, on 
the north by Ridgeway township, on the south and west by Pine Creek 
township. 

PIONEERS IN SNYDER TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S36. 

Names of Taxables. — Dillis Allen, Hugh Anderson, George Addison, 
James & Alonzo Brockway, one saw-mill ; Elihu Clark, David Carr, Joel 
Clark, Sr., Joel Clark, Jr. (single man), David Dennison, John Dougherty 
(single man), Thomas Dougherty (single man), ^Nliron Gibbs, Francis 
Goodar, Benjamin Hulet, Frederick Heterick, Joseph Houston (single 
man), William Houston (single man), Milton Johnston, Joseph McAfee 
(single man), Robert McCurdy (single man), Joseph McCurdy (single 
man), John McLaughlin, Thomas McCormick, Hamilton Moody, 
Thomas Moody, Andrew McCormick, James Moorhead (single man), 
James W. Moorhead (single man), John Moorhead, David Moorhead 
(single man), John Pearsall, Arad Pearsall, James Ross, David jNL 
Riddle, Henry Shalier (single man), Jacob Shaffer, Ami Sibbley, Wil- 
liam Shaw, Stephen Tibbetts, Isaac Temple, Andrew ^'astbinder, I'aul 

Vandevort, Joseph Whitehill. 

ELDRED. 

Organized in 1S36, and was taken from Rose and Barnett. Eldred 
township was bounded on the north by Barnett, on the east by Ridgeway 
township, on the south by Rose, and on the west by the Armstrong County 
line. 

PIONEERS IN ELDRED TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN I S3 7. 

NiDiies of Taxablcs. — Thomas Arthurs, George Armstrong, William 
Anderson, Henry Boyles, David Barr, Thomas Barr, Samuel Barr, Abra- 
liam Bickler, Smith Benedict, Richard Burns, William Booth, Jacob 
Beer, Thomas Callen, Jacob Craft, Moses H. Carly, Peter Coonsman, 
John D. Kahle, George Catz, Henry Clark, Job Carly, William Douglass 
(colored), Daniel Elgin, Alexander Fredericks, Elijah M. Graham, Jo- 

399 



PIOxNEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

seph (iraham, Elias Gearhart, Dolly George, Isaiah Guthrie, William 
Gordon, Israel Hughes, Thomas Hughes, Thomas Hall, William Hop- 
per, Malachi Hopper (single man), William M. Hindman, William 
Hughes, Richard Hague, Richard Hague, Jr., William & John Hutchi- 
son, William B. Kennedy, Frederick Kahle, William Kennedy, David 
Aikens, James Cochran, David McKee, John VV. Monks, Isaac Matson, 
Sr., mill seat ; James McManigle, James McNeal, John McCracken, David 
Miller, Robert McFarland, Stewart Ross, Jacob Riddleburger, Chris- 
tian Ruffner, George Royer, Andrew Steel, James Stewart, Jr., Paul 
Stewart, Alexander Scott, Hiram Sampson, John Summerville, William 
Summerville, James Summerville, David Silvis, Jacob Trautman, James 
L. Thompson, James Templeton, Michael Traper, George Wilson, Jr. 
(single man), Robert Wilson, John Wilson, Jr., William Wallace, John 
Wilson, Esq., George Walford, Abram Yokey, Christy Yokey. 

TIONESTA. 
Organized in 1S38, and was taken from Barnett. 

PIONEERS IN TIONESTA TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 183S. 

A'aiiK's of Taxa/>/es. — James Adams, George Bests, Samuel Cupins, 

Erastus Gibson, Ebenezer Kingsley, Perry Kingsley, Ephraim Kingsley 

(single man), Edward Kingsley, Count Kingsley, John Lukins (single 

man), George Leadlie, one saw-mill wnth two saws ; David W. Mead, 

sawyer ; John Nolf. 

JENKS. 

Organized in i83<S, and was taken from Barnett. 

PIONEERS IN JENKS TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 183S. 

Names of Taxables. — James Anderson, Cyrus Blood, Benjamin L. 

Baley, Aaron J5rockway, Sr., Aaron Brockway, Jr., Amos Fitch, Isaac 

Fitch, John Hunt, Pheli)s Hunt, Jessie Jackson, Josiah Leary, John 

Lewis, Robert McLatchlie, Oran Newton, Samuel Reyner, Andrew J. 

Reyner. 

WASHINGTON. 

Organized in 1839, and was taken from Pine Creek and Snyder. 
AN'ashington township was bounded on the east by Clearfield County line, 
on the north by Snyder townshij), and on the south and west by Pine 
Creek township. 

PIONEERS IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1838. 

Names of Taxabhs. — Dillis Allen, one saw-mill ; Frederick Alexan- 
der, Hugh Alexander, John Atwell, James Alexander and father, James 
Bond, Samuel Beman, Samuel Crawford, John C'lendennen, John Craw- 
ford, William Cooper, John P. Clark, Aaron Clark, Robert Douthard, 
one grist-mill; Thomas Dougherty, James Dougherty, James Downs, 

400 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Robert Dickson, Michael Elliott, William Feely, John Fuller, Alexander 
B, Fowler, George Feely, George Hughes, Andrew Hunter, George 
Horam, Jacob \: William Horara, John Horam, Sr., John Horam, Jr., 
Matthew Keys, Henry Keys, Joseph Keys, James Kyle, Samuel Kyle, 
Samuel Miles, John McGhee, Oliver McClelland, Andrew Moore, Robert 
Morrison, William McConnell, James ISIcConnell, Joseph McConnell 
(single man), John McClelland, William McCullough, William I\Ic- 
Donald, Robert Mcintosh, occupation ; Henry Mcintosh, John Mcintosh, 
W^illiam Mcintosh, Jr., William Mcintosh, Sr., Rebecca Mcintosh, George 
Ogden, Joseph Potter, tavern : Ramsey Potter, Jacob Peters, Tilton Rey- 
nolds, William Reynolds, Thomas Reynolds (single man), David Rey- 
nolds, Joshua Rhea, Samuel Rhea, James Rany, James Smith, Andrew 
Smith, Matthew Smith, B. Sprague, Ephraim Stephen, Peter Sharp, 
John Sprague, Thomas Tedlie, Henry Vastbinder, James Waite, John 
Wilson, Oliver Welsh, Daniel Yeomans, Henry Yeomans. 

PORTER. 

Organized in 1S40, and was taken from Perry. Porter township was 
bounded on the west by Armstrong County line, on the south by Indiana 
County line, on the north by Rose township. 

PIONEERS IN PORTER TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S41. 

N'ames of Taxa/>/rs. — John Alcorn, William Alcorn, Samuel Albert, 
Thomas Adams, Alexander Adams, George Barickhouse, Lawrence Bair. 
Ludwick Byerly, Gideon Bush, Powel Baughman, Robert Brice, Arm- 
strong Bartley, Rev. Elisha Coleman, 530 on interest ; John Coleman, 
AMlliam Callen, Benjamin Campbell, Henry Cherry, David Callen, 
Peter Callen, Andrew Callen, John Cherry (single man), Elisha Camp- 
bell, Frederick Coonrod, James Chambers, John Chambers, Harrison 
Coon, Jacob Dinger, Benjamin Dimick, Michael Tumas, Henry Dorn- 
hime, John Thomas, Edward Enty (colored), John Flisher, Jr., John 
Flisher, Henry Flisher, William Ferguson, Sr. , ^^'illiam Ferguson, Jr., 
John Ferguson, Ebenezer Ferguson, Henry Faringer, AMUiam Foster, 
David Fairman, Francis Fairman, Henry Freece, Thomas Gaghagen, 
James Craghagen, Gearhart & Spangler, Henry (rlontz, Daniel Gag- 
hagen, Peter Graver, Daniel Geist, one saw-mill ; Solomon Geist, Sam- 
uel Geist, Jesse Geist, John Geist, Sr., John Geist, Jr., Pollie Gilbreth 
(widow), William Gillespie, occupation ; Daniel Hinderlighier, Michael 
Hinderlighter, Daniel Hass, A\'illiam Hiuies, James Hamilton, Elias 
Hulwick, David Hamilton, Michael Heterick, Peter Heterick, Samuel 
Hice, Michael Holloback, E. E. Hannager, Joseph Hannah, Adam 
Hane, Harry Heckendorn, John Hice, office : Isaac Hamilton, Jacob 
Huffman, Daniel Huffman, Andrew Hazlet (single man), John James, 
Robert Kennedy, John Conklm, Joseph Kinnear. (leorge Knarr, Michael 

4ui 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Lantz, John Lantz, Frederick Lantz, George Letich, Samuel Lerch 
David Langard, John Miller, John Mohney. John Hotter, Henry Mill- 
iron (single man), William McAninch, Jr., A\'illiam McAninch, Sr., Hugh 
McGuier, occupation ; John McAninch, John McClelland, John Mower, 
Jr., John Mower, Sr. , ^Villiam Montier, AVilliam AlcNutt, Robert Mc- 
Nutt, IVfartin Miller. Peter Minich, George Milliron, David Milliron, 
Philip Milliron, William Milliron, Peter Milliron, Daniel Motter, Sam- 
uel Motter, Jacob Motter, George McGregor, M. McGregor, John 
Martz, Gillmore Montgomery, Daniel McGregor, ]\Iatthew McDavid, 
John Miller, Andrew McDaniel, Jacob Minich, David McDaniel, 
John McMillen, Thomas McMillen, Henry Minich, occupation ; Samuel 
Mickle, Coonrod Xulf, N. J. Nesbit, occupation ; Thomas Nice, Wil- 
liam Niel, John Potts, George Potts, John Postlethwait, David Postle- 
thwait, Elias Powel, Moses Powel, Peter Procius, Daniel Procius, Henry 
Peter, James Robinson, David Richard, George Reitz, John Robinson, 
Esq., one saw-mill ; William Robinson, Irwin Robinson, Samuel Richard, 
Carl Randolf, Philip Reed, Joshua B. Farr, George Rinehart, Henry 
Ross, occupation ; George Reitz (single man), John Silvas, occupation ; 
Michael Shaffer, Simon Stahlman, Henry Spare, Sr., Isaac Shaffer, 
Frederick Steer, Jacob Snyder (single man), Abraham Shipe, Henry 
Shipe, one tan-yard ; Philip Smith, Andrew Shaffer, Abraham Shaffer, 
Benjamin Shaffer, Valentine Shaffer, money on interest; Francis Shraw- 
ber, ofhce ; John Shrawber, Martin Shannon, occupation; Peter Spang- 
ler, Absalom Smith, John Shadle, John Steel, Jacob Startzel, John 
Shofner, Henry Spare, John Startzel, Coonrod Snyder, Walter Snyder, 
Daniel Snyder, Moses Shoffstall, Stephen Travis, Broce Taylor, Edward 
Chamberlin, Henry Truckmiller, Henry Chamberlain. George Chamber- 
lain, George Travis, James Travis, Samuel Trayor, John Wilson, occupa- 
tion ; Edward Uptagraff, George Wise, Amos Weaver. Moses Weaver, 
James Watts, James WMlson, Esq., office; Benjamin Weary, Abraham 
Walker, Robert A\'ilson, Jacob Wise, George Young, Jr., George Young, 

Sr. , Lawrence \'eager. 

CLOVER. 

Organized in 1S41, and was taken from Rose. Clover township was 
bounded on the east and north by Rose, on the west by the Clarion 
County line, and on the south by Perry. 

PIONEERS I.\ CLOVER TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1843. 

Names of Taxables. — Daniel Baldwin, Wallace Bratton, John H. Bish, 
Hudson Bridge, Samuel Bratton, Michael Brocius, John Brocius, Peter 
Brocius, Jacob Brocius, George Burns, Alonzo (.\: Fred. Baldwin, one 
saw-mill, one yoke of oxen, one coav, and two horses ; Adam Brocius, 
John Baughman, John Bruner, occupation as sawyer; John Campbell, 
Hiram Carrier, one saw-mill ; Nathan Carrier, one fourth of a saw-mill ; 

402 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Darius Carrier, Lorenzo Campbell, Sanford Campbell, George and Na- 
than Carrier, George Cain (single manj, Michael Crawford, George Car- 
rier, one-fourth of a saw-mill ; Darius Carrier, one-half of a saw-mill ; 
Euphrastus Carrier, Darius & Hiram Carrier, one grist-mill; Isaac 
Covert, (ieorge Campbell, Matthew Dickey, Dr. James Dowling, James 
S. Dean, Andrew Doyle (single man), James Defords, George Eckler, 
William Edmond, Thomas Edmond, one saw-mill ; David Edmond, 
John Fuller (single man), John H. Flemming, Solomon Fuller, Jr., Chris- 
topher Fogle, one tan-yard ; David Farriweather, C. Jacox, house and 
lot ; Ira Fuller, one saw-mill ; William Fitzsimmons, transferred to 
Baldwin, James Ferguson, Abraham Funk, Hiram Fuller, Thomas 
Guthrie, Aaron Fuller, one saw-mill ; George Gray, occupation ; Wil- 
liam Guthrie, James Guthrie (single man). Carder Gilmore, James B. 
Guthrie, James Guthrie, Sr., Alexander Guthrie, Jacob Grame, James 
Gardner, Elijah Heath, one grist-mill and one sawmill; Jacob Heck- 
man, James Hildebrand, Peter Himes, Joseph Hall, Sr., Joel & Porter 
Haskill, one saw-mill ; Gideon Haskill, Simon Hay,^, one house and lot; 
Abram Hidelman, occupation as miller ; John Johnston, William Jack, 
Samuel Johns, Hazard Jaycock, Charles Jaycock, Matson J. Knapp, 
Samuel Knapp, Moses Knapp, Jr., one grist-mill and one sawmill; Jo- 
seph Knapp, one yoke of oxen and three cows ; John Knapp, John 
Kelso, Jr., one dog; George Keck, James Kelso, William Kelly, Wil- 
liam Lucas (single man), James S. Lucas, occupation; Peter Lucas, 
John Lucas, Jr., Daniel Leech, John Lucas, Sr., Samuel Lucas, Sr. , John 
Lucas (of Samuel), Samuel Lucas, Jr., tradesman ; John T. Love, John 
Love (Yankee), William Lucas (single man), Lucas & Knapp, guardians 
of Buttle's estate ; James Long, trade ; Rev. John McCauley, Samuel 
Magill, William Magill, Hugh McGiffin (Yankee), Daniel Milliron, Sam- 
uel Milliron, John McGiffin, Robert Morrison, David Moore, Isaac Mot- 
ter, Andrew McElwaine, estate : Eli McDowel (single man), Abraham 
Milliron, Hugh McGiffin, Solomon Milliron, tradesman ; Elijah McAn- 
inch, estate; George McAninch, William McAninch (of Samuel), Henry 
Milliron, Jonathan ISIilliron, William Miller, one house and lot; Samuel 
Newcomb, one saw-mill ; Coonrad & Frank Nolf, William B. Newcomb, 
Joseph Osborne, William Rhoney, Levi Reed, William Rodgers, James 
Ross, one saw-mill ; Hance Robinson, one grist-mill and saw-mill ; 
Joseph Ross, William Robinson (single man), Richards Richard, (leorge 
Richard, one house and lot ; John Reitz, Isaac Reitz (single man), David 
Smith, William Simpson, Alexander Smith, Hulet Smith, John Shields, 
Sr., James Shields, Peter Swab, tradesman ; Robert Shields, one yoke 
oxen and cow ; Daniel and James Shields, one cow and yoke of oxen ; 
James Shields, Jr., George Simpson, Benjamin Sowers, Abraham Stine, 
one house and lot ; Henry Scott, Henry Sowers, John B. Shields, 
James Sowers, Jr., David Shields, James Sowers, Sr., Gideon Trumbull, 

403 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Joseph M. Tnompson. Samuel B. Taylor, one lot and store ; Jesse ^'an- 
devort, occupation : Paul \'andevort, one house and lot ; David \'an- 
devort, Stephen ^Vebster, five lots : Beech Wayland, Patience ^Vheeler, 
John R. Welsh, fackson Welsh (single man), Monroe Webster, Ezekiel 
White. 

BROOKVILLE BOROUGH. 

The pioneer borough, and taken from Rose, bounded on the east by 
Pine Creek. 

BROOKVILLE BOROUGH AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1S44. 

A^ai/ies of Taxahhs. — Richard Arthurs (single man), house and lot, 
profession; Caleb Alexander, one patent lever watch, S35 ; Charles 
Anderson (colored), one outlot and house ; James Acheson (single man), 
Isaac Allen, two lots improved, one-half lot and house, and blacksmith- 
shop ; John Arthurs, James H. Ames, occupation ; John Alexander, Rev. 
Garey Bishop, j^rofession ; Cyrus Butler, house and lot ; Samuel B. 
Bishop, house and stable, profession, one gold watch, $50; Thompson 
Barr (single man), office ; Robert P. Barr, house and lot, one grist-mill, 
mill lot and house, saw-mill ; Hugh Brady, one lot improved, profession ; 
Thomas Barr, house and lot, outlot, lot improved ; John Brownlee, 
house and lot, printing-office; Samuel M. Bell, David Bittenbenner 
(single man), Wakefield Corbett (minor), one patent-lever watch ; Bar- 
clay (S: Hastings, printing-office : Jesse (r. Clark, house and lot, brick, 
tavern stand, lot improved, outlots improved, profession, one gold watch, 
$50; James Corbett, one lot, office, justice of peace; Levi G. Clover, 
house and lot, lots, outlots, office judgeship ; Solomon Chambers, house 
and lot ; Joseph Clements, house and lot, lots improved ; Samuel Craig, 
house and lot, lot improved ; James Craig, house and lot ; Andrew Craig 
(single man), Corbett <S: Barr, house and lot, inlot and smith-shop; 
James C. Coleman, William F. Clark (single man), inlot, one lever 
watch, ^35 ; George Darr, Joseph Deering (single man), Hugh Dowling 
(single man), George Darling, house and lot; Lewis B. Dunham, house 
and lot, outlot, profession, one pleasure carriage, $30; Daniel Dunkle- 
burg (single man), David Deering (single man), profession, one lever 
watch, $35 ; John Dougherty, house and lots (tavern), house and lots 
(brick), house and lots, inlot improved, inlots, one gold watch, 345 ; 
James Dowling, i)rofession ; Jared B. Evans, four lots and houses and 
stables, eight lots ; Samuel Espy, house and lot ; Charles Evans, house 
and lot, brick, main street; Evan l"]vans, John Gallagher, lot improved, 
office justice of peace, outlot; Enoch Hall, house and lot: William 
Fleming (single man), John Hutchison, house, lot, and shop: Joseph 
Henderson, house and one and two thirds lots ; John Hastings, occupa- 
tion, one lever watch, 335 ; Jamison Hendricks, occupation ; James 
Hall estate, house and lot, outlot; Joseph Hughes, house and lot; 

404 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

George Irwin, David B. Jenks, house and two lots, profession ; William 
Jack, house and one-half lot, house and lot, inlots, inlots improved, 
outlots; William P. Jenks, Sr., Samuel H. Lucas, house and lot, one 
gold watch, $40; Thomas Lucas, house and lot, inlot improved, pro- 
fession; John Matson, Jr., house and lot; LTriah Matson, house and lot, 
James C. Matson, Joseph McAfee, inlot improved, outlots improved ; 
Benjamin McCreight, house and lot, brick, partly finished, house and 
lot, four lots ; Geo. McLaughlin (single man), house and lots, lot im- 
proved ; William McCandless (single man), Robert Matson (single man), 
John McCrea, office prothonotary ; George Porter, house and two lots ; 
John Richards, occupation, one gold watch, $75 ; John Ramsey, house 
and lot; William Rogers, occupation ; Alexander Scott, Jr. (single man), 
Philip Schrader, house and two lots ; John Smith, house and one-half lot, 
tavern, outlot ; Daniel Smith, house and lot ; Gabriel Vastbinder, inlot 
improved ; George Wilson (single man), 'William Wilkins (single man), 
one pleasure carriage; Thomas Wilkins, James C. Wilson (single man), 
watch, value of S25 ; Wilkins lS: Irwin, one and one-half lots and house, 
tan-yard and house; Michael Woods, Adam Goodman, T. B. McClellan, 
house and lot, lot improved ; Ephraim Washburn, occupation ; Alexander 
Scott, Sr., lot improved; George Scott (single man), Wm. A. Sloan, 
house and lot, lot improved ; Samuel Truby, house and lot, lot im- 
proved : John Templeton, house and lot ; James Humphrey (single man). 

G ASK ILL. 

Organized in 1S42, and was taken from Young, (iaskill township 
was bounded on the east by the Clearfield County line, on the south by 
the Indiana County line, and on the west and north by Young township. 

PIONEERS IN GASKILL TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1842. 

Armies of Tasa/'/rs. — Levi Anthony, unimproved land judgments, S3S ; 
Henry Bowman, Philip Bowers, Andrew Bovvers, John Bowers, Eli Bow- 
ers, Henry &: Samuel Beam, Calvin Brooks, William Brooks, Peter Bu- 
chite, George Gulp, John Gary, Daniel Coffman, John Coffman, Oliver 
Gathers, Joseph Cofflett, Abraham Cofflett, Jacob Cofflett (single man), 
Josiah Covert, John Douthett estate, Francis Doros, John Deamer, James 
Dickey, Alexander Dickey, Thomas Davis, Josiah Davis, George Gregg, 
David Henry, John Hoover, Joseph Hoover, Sally Hess, Rufus Jorley, 
Frederick Kuhuley, Thomas Kerr, one promissory note, S20 ; George 
Keller, occupation ; Joseph Keller, Abraham Keller, Alexander Lyons, 
Henry Lot, Francis Leech, George Leech, occupation; Abraham Lud- 
wick, George Ludwick, Elizabeth Ludwick, John Long, Andrew Mc- 
Creight, Sharp McCreight, James McCreight (single man), Henry Miller, 
mason : John Miller, George Miller, Henry Miller, farmer : William Mc- 
Elheny, George Pifer (single man), John Pifer, Jonas Pifer, Henry & John 

405 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 

D. Philipi, Samuel Pershing, Adam (^uigley, John Rider, George Rhodes, 
Jacob Smith, Sr., Jacob Smith, Jr., Jonathan Stouse, James Solesley, 
Samuel Smith, Adam States, Henry Sprague, Ashel Sprague, Milton 
Sprague, carpenter; Thomas Thompson, Adam Wise, Jacob Weaver; 
Joseph Wilson, Richard AA'ainwright, Creorge Wainwright, William Wil- 
liams, James Williams, Adam Yohey, Henry Yohey, Samuel Yohey 
(single man), Samuel Zufall, one saw- mill. 

WARSAW. 

Organized in 1S42, and was taken from Pine Creek. Warsaw was 
bounded by Snyder and Washington on the east, by Ridgeway on the 
north, Eldred on the west, and Pine Creek on the south. 

PIONEERS IN WARSAW TOWNSHIP AS PER ASSESSMENT IN 1 843. 

jVames of Taxablcs. — William Anderson, John Alexander, Gilbert 
Burrows, Ira Bronson,. John Bell, John W. Baum, Joseph Buell, Na- 
thaniel Butler, Philo Bowdish, David Butler, Bartholomew Cavinore, 

Chapman, one cow and trade ; Peter Chamberlin, Elihu Clark, David 

Carlton, Sarah Dixon, John Dill, Thomas Dixon, Jared A. Evans, 
Thomas Ewing, John Fleming. George Frederick, Aaron Fuller, Milton 
Gibbs, William Gray, Francis Goodar, Miron Gibbs, William Humphrey, 
Matthew Humphrey, Philip Heterick, Samuel Howe, Joel Howe, Elijah 
Heath, James K. Huffman, George Hunter, John Heterick, Joseph E. 
Hannah, Joseph Hoey, Davis Ingraham, Eli L Irvin, William Jack, 
Milton lohnson, Henry Keys, William Long, Michael Dong, Sarah Ann 
Lithgow, Josiah Loomis, Sarah McCormick, Thomas McCormick, David 
McCormick, Jr., one silver watch; James t\: John Moorhead, David 
Moorhead, Joseph McConnell, Matthew Metcalf, one silver watch ; Wil- 
liam and James INIcElvain, Asa Morey, Jacob Moore, Mundale Metcalf, 
Ozias P. Mather, Robert Montgomery, Andrew McCormick, Samuel P. 
McCormick, Findley McCormick, one silver watch ; David McCormick, 
Sr. , Thomas McWilliams, Elnathan Marsh, Charles Munger, Nathan 
Perrin, John M. Phelps, Arad Pearsall, trade , John Pearsall, Solomon 
Riggs, George Russell, William R. Richards, two saw-mills, one silver 
watch; Peter Richards, Sr., Peter Richards, Jr. , Abraham Rufsnyder, 
^Vllliam Russell, John N. Riggs, Davis E. Riggs, James L. L. Riggs, 
Daniel Snyder, Eli Snyder, Abraham Snyder, Nathan Snyder, Samuel 
Shul, one saw-mill and house ; Moses B. St. John, Gideon Trumbull, 
Isaac Temple, Jacob Yastbinder, Sr., Joshua "N'andevort, Sr., Jacob Vast- 
binder, Jr. (single manj, John Yastbinder, Andrew Yastbinder, Abram 
Vandevort, Levi Vandevort, Joshua Vandevort, Jr., Peter Yastbinder, 
Tames A. Wilkins, John J. ^Vilson, Isaac Walker, John \Yakefield, John 
Walker, Solomon Wales, William Weeks, John R. ^^'ilkins, Galbraith 
^\')lson, Jeremiah Wilson, one tannery; Hiram Wilson. 

406 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUxNTV, PENNA. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

PIONEER NEWSPAPER IN THE WEST PIONEER NEWSPAPER IN THE COUNTY 

TERMS — EARLV MARKET — OTHER PAPERS. 

Prenious to 1793 there were no postal or post-office facilities. Letters 
and papers had to be sent with friends, neighbors, or by special carriers. 
The first newspaper started in the western part of the State was the Pitts- 
burg Gazette. It was published by John Scull, and issued in 17S6. It 
was distributed to patrons by special carriers. The pioneer newspaper 
for Jefferson County was published in Indiana, Pennsylvania. It was es- 
tablished in 1826 It was a four column paper, printed on paper eleven 
inches wide and seventeen inches long. I have No. 13 of vol. i., and 
reprint here from it, — viz. : 

THE AMERICAN, 

AND 

INDIANA & JEFFERSON REPUBLICAN. 



" He is a freeman whom the truth makes free and all are slaves besides." — Cowper. 

Alexander T. Moorhead, Proprietor, and Edited bv James Moorhead. 



New Series — Vol. I. 



Monday, May 22, 1826. 



No. 13. 



PRINTED BV 

WM. MOORHEAD, 
in the frame house next door to Mr. 
Jos. Thompson, Chair Maker and 
Painter, 

North of the Court House, 
Water Street, Indiana, Pa. 



Terms of Publication. 

THE AMERICAN, AND INDI- 
ANA AND JEEFERSON RE- 
PUBLICAN will be pubH>hed every 
Monday, at two dollars per annum, 
exclusive of postage; and two dollars 
and fifty cents, including postage, 
payable half yearly in advance. 

No subscription taken for a shorter 
period than six months, and no with- 
drawal whilst in arrears. 

A failure to notify an intention to 
discontinue at the end of six months 
is considered a new engagement. 

Advertisements will be inserted at 
the rate of ONE DOLLAR per 
square for the three first insertions, 
and TWENTY-FIVE cents for every 
continuance ; those of greater length 
in proportion. 

All orders directed to the Editor 
must be post paid or they cannot re- 
ceive attention. 

GRAIN, RAGS. BEES-WAX. OR 
TALLOW, will be taken in payment 
of subscription, if paid within the 
current year. 



407 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 
Inside and local column : 



THE AMERICAN. 



INDIANA ; 



Monday, May 22, 1826. 



The price of lumber by retail as advertised 
by the Diamond Mills, INIarch 6th, 1826. 

Bill of Price of Fine BOARDS, and 
SCANTLING at the MILLS. 
Inch boards price per loo feet ^0.80 

1^ inch do do 0.75 

j^ inch do do 0.70 

2 inch plank (selected) 0.50 
i}^ inch (do) 1.25 

3 inch (do) 2.00 
2 inch common plank for barn or 

stable floors 1.20 

Scantling for Joists, &c. &c. 2^ 
inches by 10, running measure per 
100 feet. 1.30 

3 inches by 8, per 100 feet i-37/'2 

3 inches by 7, do 1. 25 

3 inches by 5, (selected) 1.25 

3 inches by 4, (do) I -12^ 

5 inches by 5, (do) 1.50 

Scaniling for Rafters in proportion. 
Lath for palings iSic. per 100 feet 0.26 

Selected boards of the best timber 

for Sash, or other particular uses i.oo 
Purchasers are invited to give us a call. 

ROBERT MITCHELL, 
TAMES HAMILTON, 
A. T. MOORHEAD. 

A common advertisement of those days as found in the above paper : 

••Six Cents Rewaiul. 

" RAN away from the residence of his father, 
in Green Township, Indiana County, 

SIMON CONNER, 
without any just cause; I therefore forbid 
any person from harboring said boy, or the 
law will be rigidly enforced against them. 
He had on when he absconded a dral) coat 
and pantaloons, and other clothing ; one fur 
and one wool hat. The above reward and 
all reasonable expenses paid if brought home. 
JOHN CONNERS." 
May 22, 1S26. 

The following market report is taken from the Blairs-,'illc Record and 
Coiicmaitgh Reporter, dated February iS, 1830, published by L. McFar- 
land : 

"Butter, per pound, 11 cents ; bacon, per pound, 6 and 7 ; bags, 37 
and 62 ; beans, per bushel, S7 and si-oo ; boards, pine, per 100 feet, $1.50 

408 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PEXXA. 

and $i.6o; coal, per bushel, 2 and 3 ; candles, per pound, 10 and io}4 ; 
cheese, per pound, 7 and S; eggs, per dozen, 12I0 ; tlour, per barrel, 
$5 and $5.50; feathers, per pound, 30 ; wheat, per bushel, 70 and 80; 
rye, per bushel, 40 and 50 ; corn, per bushel, 40 and 50 ; oats, per bushel, 
31 and 37; sole leather, per pound, 23 and 26; lard, per pound, 5; 
pork, fresh, per pound, 3 and ^}4 ; potatoes, per bushel, 25 ; salt, per 
barrel, $2.50; wool, per pound, 13 and ^;^ ; whiskey, per gallon, 27 
and 30. 

" Pittsburgh, Penn'a, March 4th, 1834. 

" PRICES CURRENT. 

Wheat per bushel 65 and 70 cents. 

Rye " " 50 and 56 " 

Corn " " 45 and 59 " 

Oats " " 31 and ^;i " 

Wheat flour per barrel ^3. 

Buckwheat flour per hundredweight $2.50 and ^3. 

Flaxseed per bushel 90 cents to ^l. 

Dried apples per bushel 40 and 50 cents. 

" peaches Si. 

Feathers per pound ^^ and 40 cents. 

Rags " " 5 and5>^ " 

Wool " " 30 cents. 

Spanish hides per pound 16 and 19 cents. 

Green " " " 5 cents. 

Beeswax per pound 16 and 18 cents. 

Havana coffee per pound 14 and I4|^ cents. 

Rio " " " 15^ and 17 " 

Java " " '' . 16 and 18 cents. 

Whiskey per gallon 23 and 25 " 

— Copied frorn the Olive Branch, Freeport, Pennsylvania, April 26, 1834, 
vol. i.. No. 30. 

In the year 1832, John J. Y. Thompson established in Brookville, 
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, and issued the first number of the 
pioneer paper within the confines of the county. This paper was printed 
on coarse paper, thirteen inches wide and twenty inches long. The 
terms of subscription were the same as printed for the A)iicncan. In 
politics it was Democratic. In 1S33, Thomas Reid purchased a half 
interest in the establishment. The paper then was published as a neu- 
tral or independent, and still called Gazette. Thompson and Reid not 
agreeing, Reid retired, and Thompson and James P. Blair continued the 
publication. 

In 1833, Thompson disposed of his interest to Dr. R. K. Scott, and 
the firm became Blair & Scott. They changed the name to Jeffersonian, 
and in politics it was Democratic. On February 27, 1834, 'Blair & Scott 
sold out to George R. Barrett, who published it as the Jeffersonian 
for one year. It was printed and published each week on Thursday, and 

27 409 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

on the same terms as the Iinliana American. The pioneer printing office 
under all these parties, except Thompson, was in a one story-and-ahalf 
frame building, unpainted, on the corner of Main and Pickering Streets, 
opposite the old, and now the new, court-house. Matson's brick block 
is now located on the ground. For years this little office, as well as the 
village, which was named Brookville by Joseph Barnett, the patriarch of 
the county, was surrounded by a boundless forest, the tail and lofty pines 




J. I. \'. Tliompsnn, pioneer publisher of paper. 



in the immediate vicinity towering up towards the clouds, obscuring the 
sun's rays until noontide, while nightly revels of hungry wolves awakened 
the pioneer in his cabin. Next Jesse G. Clark and lUair bought and ran 
the paper for [six months, at which time James H. Laverty and James 
McCrackin bought and published the paper until 1S36. At this time 
Laverty retired, and McCrackin changed the name to the Brookville Re- 
publican, and continued the publication until January i, 1S39, when he 
removed with his paper from the county. 

Copy of George R. liarrett's indenture, the man who published the 
Brookville Jeffersoiiiaii in 1834: 

410 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Article of agreement made and concluded this first day of Septem- 
ber, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, between John Bigler, of the 
borough of Bellefonte, Centre County, on the one part, and Daniel 
Barrett, of Clearfield County, on the other part. 

"The said John Bigler, printer, doth agree to teach George Barrett, 
son of the said Daniel, the art and mystery of printing ; and during the 
period that the said George shall so live with him the said Bigler is to 




Hon. George R. Barrett, editor of paper. 



board and clothe said George, and during his time give him one-quarter 
of day schooling, one quarter night schooling, and when free give the 
said George a good suit of clothes, to be new at that time. 

"And the said Daniel doth hereby covenant and agree that the said 
George shall remain with the said Bigler for the term of three years and 
six months from the date of these presents, and comport himself in such 
manner as is the duty of an apprentice to a master. 

"John Bigler, 
D.A.NIEL Barrett. 
" AVitness present — Franklin B. Smith." 

411 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In June, 1838, Thomas Hastings and son started and published in 
Brookville a new paper called the Baclriuoodsmaii. In 1841, Colonel 
\Villiam Jack bought this paper and had it published by George F. 
Humes. This was not a success, and Humes, in a valedictory to his 
patrons, told them to go to h — 11 and he would go to Texas. In 1843 
the paper was owned and published by David Barclay and Barton T. 
Hastings. In a short time Barclay retired and Hastings continued the 
publication. Those papers were all printed on the old Ramage or 
Franklin press, and every publisher made his own "roller" out of glue 
and molasses, in the proportion of a pound of glue to a pint of molasses. 
In Brookville the " youngest devil" in the office carried to the residence 
of each subscriber his or her paper. The boy who delivered these papers 
was called the " carrier." Each New Year's day this carrier would have 
an address in poetry, written by some local bard, recounting the events of 
the year just closed. This New Year's address he offered for sale to his 
patrons. 

"ADDRESS TO HIS PATRONS BY THE CARRIER OF THE BROOKVILLE 
DEMOCRAT-REPUBLICAN, JANUARY i, 1837. 

" Here I come, the ' little herald' of our town, 
So early in the morning, to prance the streets around, 
Bringing to you news from near and far, 
Of murder, marriage, death, and war ; 
Through the bleak winter's snow-storm, 
Through rain, hail, and weather of every form, 
I my weekly courses round to your house run, 
As regularly as the bright and unvarying sun; 
And since I my first visit here have made. 
Changes many and strange, it is said, 
Have fallen to the poor creature man : 
To some, many thousands is a clan. 

" But since I have thus taken upon me 
To be merry and busy as a honey-bee. 
You will please bear with me awhile, — 
I will tell you of wars strange and vile. 
Which, within twelve months, have taken place. 
On Texas's fair soil, by the Mexican race, 
Who, like bloody monsters and fiend, 
Butcher'd man, woman, and child. 
Brave Crockett, like a hero has a fallen. 
Far in Texas, while the Mexican mailing. 
His fame, may it be handed down, 
Like the never-fading laurels of a crown. 
May a lasting tribute be fully paid 
To him that low in the Alamo was laid ; 
But, the commander, Santa Anna, soon in snare, 
Was taken by Houstcm and his men of war ; 
412 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In chains and fetters he long lay, 

Now turned at liberty, they say. 

To Washington in haste he comes, 

There in its lofty and pure domes. 

To acknowledge Tf:xAS to be at liberty; 

And that she shall no longer fear he, 

In the presence of Jackson, noble and brave, 

To declare her free as the sea-rolling wave. 



" Another President has been matle, 
Martin Van Buren, it is truly said. 
Will take this high nation's reins, 
Will, on the fourth, if the Lord deigns. 
Of March next President be. 
Over this great nation of Liberty; 
W^hile Johnston, of Kentucky great. 
Yet has to stand before the Senate. 



" Now to you, fair lasses, a word. 
I will speak to you of neither famine nor sword. 
But of plenty and happiness, full and free. 
Around well-furnished tables of lea. 
Leap year has taken its flight, 
And the bachelors are glad of the sight; 
Beaus you will soon have in full store. 
Since you have courted them no more; 
But I would advise and warn you. 
To beware lest they despise and scorn you. 
That you pass not sweet twenty-five, 
In single blessedness to live. 
You will please take this friendly warning, 
And I will bid you a good-morning. 



" Old maids, like to have forgotten you I had ; 
Your condition is surprisingly bad ; 
Next to an old bachelor's dreadful state 
I deplore your wonderfully hard fate. 
But cheer up, ye lovely old dames. 
Husbands you shall have in picture-frames. 



' But of all IMPS I am the completest, 
Of all patrons you are the neatest. 
All so very kind, loving, and civil 
To your young friend, the printer's devil ; 
Then take it not as impudent of me, 
Little, poor, and despised you see, 
To wish you a happy New Year ; 
And you need not feel anxiety or fear, 
413 



PIONEER HlSTOR^• UF jEP^FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

About produce tliat may fall or rise, 
If you just hand over to me twentv-five. 
To do this you may not be willing, 
Then extend unto me but one shilling. 

" Carrier. 
Republican Office, BR(.)OKvn.LE, January I, 1S37." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

MILITIA AND TOWNSHIPS. 

PIONEER MILITIA REGIMENT. 

Our pioneer militia regiment was the One Hundred and Forty-fifth, 
Second Brigade, Fifteenth Division, Pennsylvania Militia. 

The first reference I can find of a militia company was in what is 
now Washington township. I am unable to give any further information 
of the militia at that date. 

" Attentk^n. 

"The enrolled militia, comprising the Seventh Company, First Pjat- 
talion. One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment, Second Brigade, Fif- 
teenth Division, Pennsylvania Militia, are ordered to meet, properly 
equipped for drilling, at the home of Joseph Keys, in Pine Creek town- 
ship, on the first Monday of May next, at the hour often o'clock of said 
day. 

"John Wilson, Captain.'" 

April 10, 1834. 

The lieutenants of this company were Henry Keys and Oliver Mc- 
Clelland. 

Our battalion seems to have been comprised of five companies, formed 
part of the One Hundred and Forty fifth Regiment, and belonged to the 
Fifteenth Division. The regiment was composed of two battalions, one 
in Jefferson, and the division was composed of the counties of Allegheny, 
Armstrong, Indiana, and Jefferson. William F. Johnston, of Kittanning, 
afterwards governor of the State, was the colonel ; Alexander McKnight 
(my father), of P>rookville, was lieutenant-colonel ; and William Rodgers, 
of Brookville, was major. 

These regimental officers were commissioned August 3, 1S35, for 
seven years, or during good behavior. 

The companies were numbered, "first," "second," etc., instead of 
being designated by letters, as at i)resent 

414 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

OFFICIAL FIRST COMPANY. 

Pioneer Militia Company of Eldrcd and Barnett Toionsiiips. — List of 
the voters or enrolled men of the First Company of the militia of Jeffer- 
son County, Pennsylvania, March 21, 1836: 

Thomas Arthurs, Jacob Craft, Henry M. R. Clark, Daniel Elgin, 
John West, Joseph B. Graham, Nathan Phipps. 

At an election held at the house of Thomas Arthurs, on the 21st of 
March, 1836, John West was elected captain, Nathan Phipps was elected 
first lieutenant, and Joseph B. Graham second lieutenant. 

Pioneer Militia Officers of t/ie Third Company, for tJie Townsliip of 
Perry. — At an election held on the 21st of March, 1S36, at the house of 
John Sprankle, the following officers were elected : 

For captain, Clark Kithcart had seven votes. 

For first lieutenant, William Ferguson had seven votes. 

For second lieutenant, John N. Shaffer had seven votes. 

Pioneer Militia Officers of tlie Foiirtli Company of Militia, for the 
Township of Young. — At an election held at the house of A. Weaver, on 
March 21, 1836, the following officers were elected : 

For captain, William Clawson had twelve votes. 

For first lieutenant, John Drum had eleven votes. 

For second lieutenant, James Torrence had ten votes. 

Pioneer Militia Company, Sixth Company , for the Township of Rose. — 
At an election held March 21, 1836, at the house of Alonzo Baldwin, 
in the township of Rose, for company officers for the Sixth Company of 
the Jefferson County Militia, Second Pirigade, and Fifteenth Division : 

For captain, Isaac Mcllvaine had thirteen votes. 

For captain, Christopher Barr had one vote. 

For first lieutenant, Enoch Hall had seven votes. 

For first lieutenant, John Heterick had seven votes. 

For second lieutenant, John Lucas, Jr., had nine votes. 

For second lieutenant, William (rodfrey had five votes. 

J. J. Y. Tho.mpson, Clerk. 

Voters on enrollment : 

Christopher Barr, Andrew Mcllvaine, William Godfrey, John Wil- 
liams, George McAninch, John Heterick, Isaac Mcllvaine, Hiram Carrier, 
Andrew Mcllvaine, Jr., Philip Burns, William McAninch, David Moore, 
John J. Y. Thompson, Alonzo Baldwin. 

Pioneer Militia Company of Brookville. — At an election held March 
21, 1836, at the house of Thomas Hastings, inn-keeper in Ikookville, for 
the purpose of electing officers for the Seventh Company of the Jefferson 
County Battalion, Pennsylvania Militia, the following members polled 
their ballots : 

Job McCreight, Robert Barr, Henry Dull, William McGarey, William 

415 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Barr, Thomas Craddick, Jr., Andrew C. Vastbinder, Jared B. Evans, 
Thomas Hastings, John Gallagher, John Brownlee, Samuel Craig, Cephas 
J. Dunham, John Beck, Thomas Barr, Daniel Coder, Isaac Hallen, Jo- 
seph Sharp, Charles A. Wells, Joseph Clements, Jesse G. Clark, Benja- 
min McCreight, Hugh Brady, Samuel Truby, William Rodgers, Arad 
Pearsall, Alexander C. Hamilton, William Kelso, James Craig, Andrew 
C. Hall, Richard Arthurs, James Lucas, Caleb A. Alexander, James 
McCracken, John Barnett, James Templeton, Henry Smith. 

William Kelso was elected captain, Daniel Coder first lieutenant, and 
Henry Smith second lieutenant. 

The following notice, dated November 17, 1S36, was published in 
the Brookville Republican by the brigade inspector, as required by law : 

"An appeal for the First Battalion, One Hundred and Forty-fifth 
Regiment, will be held at the house of J. Pierce, in the borough of 
Brookville, on Monday, the 12th day of December next. The field 
officers of said battalion are requested to attend for the purpose of hear- 
ing excuses and exonerating constables, etc. Persons interested are 
requested to attend. All persons having claims for military services are 
requested to present them at the above time and place. 

" S. S. Jamison, Brigadc-Inspccto?-, 

'' Second Bat., Fifteenth Div., P. J/." 

The pioneer musters and reviews were held either at Port Barnett, the 
McCullough farm, or Samuel Jones's farm ; also on what is now Jackson 
Heber's farm, and on what is now our fair grounds. All marching was 
done to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." The militia carried all kinds of 
weapons, including "corn-stalks," and hence were called the "corn- 
stalk militia." 

The militia drills ceased in this State about 1847 or 1848. 

Marching was in single file. In drill it was "by sections of two, 
march." Instead of " file right" or "file left," it was "right" or "left 
wheel." Instead of " front" it was " left face." The Brookville militia 
and Jefferson Blues company drilled on the flat now covered with water 
by Heidrick, Matson ^: Co.'s dam. 



VOLUNTEERS— THE PIONEER MILITARY COMPANY— JEFFERSON 
BLUES— CONSTITUTION OF THAT ORGANIZATION— MILITARY 
FOURTH OF JUIA' CELEBRATION. 

As near as I can learn, the i)ioneer military volunteer company in the 
county was the Jefferson lUues. This body of men was organized at 
Brookville some time in 1S36, and was a " Volunteer Kitle Association." 

416 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer officers were, captain, John Wilson ; lieutenants, William 
Kelso and Henry Vastbinder ; orderly Sergeant, Samuel Chitister. 
Band : Samuel Lucas, fifer ; Oliver George, snare drummer : Evans R. 
Brady, bass drummer. 

From the Brookville Democrat- Republican of 1S37 I quote the fol- 
lowing account of the pioneer military celebration of the Fourth of July, 
1776: 

"JEFFERSON BLUES ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. 

"The sixty-first anniversary of American Independence was cele- 
brated in this place on the memorable Fourth by the Jefferson Blues, 
commanded by Captain John Wilson, together with the citizens of Jef- 
ferson County, in a spirit worthy of the occasion. The company formed 
in procession, and after parading in the streets and through the borough 
for a time, adjourned to the public house of William Clark, Esq., where 
they partook of a sumptuous repast, served up in his best style. 

"Dinner over, the procession marched to the grove southeast of 
Brookville, where an oration was spoken by Richard Arthurs, Esq., after 
which the following toasts were drunk : 

" By Captain John Wilson. The young republic of Texas : may she 
soon be united into the confederacy of our happy Union, and with her 
sound the trumpet of liberty. 

"By Lieutenant Vastbinder. The heroes of the army and navy of 
the last war : may their memories be cherished while the earth bears a 
plant or the sea rolls a wave. 

"By Sergeant Samuel Chitister. The Jefferson Blues: may they have 
the pleasure of being commanded hereafter by a commander of their own 
who is capable of performing the duties assigned him. 

" By Samuel Miller. The Jefferson Blues : it is now about one year 
since their organization; it it is hoped that hereafter they will agree 
better, and become a respectable volunteer company. 

" By William Clark. The North Fork Company: may they last as 
long as laurel grows green or I keep a tavern in Brookville. 

"By S. Miller. Carlton B. Curtis, Esq., our late representative in 
the Legislature. The talent and ability with which he represented us 
last winter insures him our suffrage for another term. 

"Sent by Levi L. Tate. Universal education, the railroad to in- 
ternal improvement : may it go ahead and prosper. 

"By Samuel Lucas. The Jefferson Blues: may they never be com- 
pelled to slavery while the soil yields fruit or the ocean rolls a wave. 

"ByCeorge ("). (ieorge. May we stand firm in the field of battle, 
undaunted and unshaken by the toils and dangers of a military life. 

" By Joseph Chitister. Free and independent Blues : may love and 
unity prevail among us. 

417 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" By D. Chitister. Our Constitution : may we all fearlessly support 
it while we are able to beat a drum or shoulder our arms. 

" By John W. Carr. The farmers of Jefferson County who sold their 
grain out of the county last winter: may they have the pleasure of 
living on potatoes for three months. 

" By David Vandyke. The Reform Convention: consists of many 
men, many minds, and I believe of birds of various kinds, a great singing 
and humming, and at least not much doing. 

"By Thomas Dixon. The people of Jefferson County: may virtue, 
liberty, independence, ever be their polar star. 

" By George Matthews. The volunteers of Pennsylvania : may they 
have but one object, that the good of their country. 

" By ^Villiam W. Stewart. Daniel Webster, a Democrat and Anti- 
Mason, and the best statesman in the United States : may he be chosen 
President in eighteen hundred and forty. 

" By Thomas Dixon. Nicholas Biddle, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, 
and others will find they have ' barked up the wrong sapling' in their 
efforts to underrate the virtue of Old Hickory in his dealings towards the 
United States Bank. 

" By John T. Crow. The Jefferson Blues : may her members increase 
in number and in knowledge of military tactics, and may our next choice 
of a captain result in the selection of one who understands the first prin- 
ciples of military duties. 

"By U. Matson. Short shoes and long corns to be the enemies of 
liberty. 

" By J. S. McCullough. May the Jefferson Blues be as gallant as the 
heroes of seventy-six under the gallant Washington. 

" r,V THE COMPANY. 

"The Independence of the United States made the Fourth of July 
sixty-one years ago. Let us remember our leader Washington while we 
volunteer. 

"The captain of our company: thanks to you for your good per- 
formance this day. 

" May the Jefferson Blues be united unanimously, so that they may 
understand their duty to defend their country. 

" May our company become more united together, and encourage 
one another to do their duty here and hereafter. 

"The hero of Tippecanoe: may his name be handed down to pos- 
terity in letters of gold. 

" (Note-query. — Whether were the toasts drunk, or the persons by 
whom they were given ? We hope not the latter. — Kdiiors Repuhliian.y 

The martial bands at every celebration and muster kept constantly 
beating the tune of all tunes that delighted the pioneer, — viz. : 

41S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

" Yankee Doodle is the tune, 
Yankee doodle dandy ; 
How we made the redcoats run 
At Yankee doodle dandy !" 

This tune was sometimes alternated with "The Girl I Left Behind 
Me." 

AGREEMENT TO FORM COMPANY. 

" The subscribers, whose names are hereunto affixed, agree to form 
themselves into a Volunteer Rifle Association, the name of which shall be 
the 'Jefferson Blues,' and have adopted the following constitution for 
our government : 

"JEFFERSON BLl'Es' CONSTITUTION. 
(" Published by request.) 

"Article i. Uniform. — Citizen's blue coat, white pantaloons, white 
vest, red belt, black hat, with red scarf trimmed with white tape or cord, 
black cockades, white plumes with red tops, and black leather stocks or 
handkerchiefs. 

"Article 2. Time of Parade. — The company shall parade upon 
the three days appointed by law, fixing upon the tenth of September for 
the third, and as many times thereafter as a majority of the company 
shall parade. Notice of the time and place of each parade shall be pub- 
licly given by the orderly sergeant at least ten days previous to the time 
of the parade. 

" Article 3. Fines. — The fines shall be as follows : On law days, for 
each commissioned officer two dollars, for non- commissioned officer one 
dollar and fifty cents, and privates one dollar, and on days appointed by 
the company one-half of said fine. 

"Article 4. The non-commissioned officers shall be elected and 
act during good behavior. The commissioned officers having the 
power to remove the non commissioned officers and hold another 
election, the officer so removed, if aggrieved, may appeal to the com- 
pany. 

" Article 5. The orderly sergeant shall act as clerk of the company, 
and the orderly sergeant shall collect all fines, etc. 

"Article 6. The commissioned officers shall constitute a standing 
executive committee to manage all the concerns of the company, and 
court of appeals. 

"Article 7. Signing the constitution and fulfilling the promises 
shall constitute a membership previous to the organization, after which, 
in addition to the above, every applicant shall be admitted by the con- 
currence of two- thirds of the company. 

419 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"Article 8. The constitution shall not be altered or amended ex- 
cept with the consent of two-thirds of the company. 

"Adopted this 4th day of July, 1836. 

"John Wilson, William Kelso, 

Henry Vastbinder, Samuel Chitister, 

Thomas Dixon, David Chitister, 

WiLLiAisi Dixon, Daniel Chitister, 

John Dixon, Joseph Chitister, 

James Dixon, James Murphy, 

Daniel Long, David Mason, 

William Long, William Mason, 

Michael Long, Jacob Mason, 

John Knapp, Benjamin Mason, 

Joshua Knapp, James S. McCullough, 

Samuel Knapp, William McCullough, 

Paul Vandevort, Moses Knapp, Jr., 

David Vandevort, David Moore, 

Joshua ^"ANDEvoRT, John Heterick." 
J. B. Graham, 

" attention, JEFFERSON BLUES ! 

" Notice is hereby given that an Appeal will be held at the house of 
William Clark on Monday, the sixth day of November next, when those 
concerned can have an opportunity of attending. Appeal to open at 10 
o'clock. 

" By order of the captain. 

"Samuel Chitister, O. S. 
" Brookvii.le, October 19, 1S37." 

These Blues had an existence of seven years. 

" militia appeal. 

"An appeal for the First Battalion, One Hundred and Forty-fifth 
Regiment, will be held at the house of J. Pierce, in the borough of 
Brookville, on Monday, the 12th day of December next. The field 
officers of said battalion are requested to attend for the purpose of hearing 
excuses and exonerating constables, etc. Persons interested are requested 
to attend. 

" All persons having claims for military services are requested to 
present them at the above time and place. 

" S. S. Jamison, Bri}:;aik Inspector, 

'' Second Bat., FiftccntJi Div., P. M. 
" Novemljer 17, 1836." 
— Brookville Democrat-Republican. 

420 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"THE AMERICAN BOY. 

" A I'OEM OF 1836. 

" ' Father, look up and see that flag, 
How gracefully it flies ; 
Those pretty stripes, that seem to he 
A rainbow in the skies.' 

" ' It is your country's flag, my son. 
And proudly drinks the light. 
O'er ocean's wave — in foreign climes, 
A symbol of our might.' 

" ' Father, what fearful voice is that. 
Like thundering of the clouds ? 
Why do the people wave their hats, 
And rush along in crowds ?' 

" ' It is the noise of cannonry. 
The glad shout of the free ; 
This is a day to memory dear, — 
'Tis freedom's jubilee.' 

" ' I wish that I was now a man, 
I'd fire my cannon too. 
And cheer as loudly as the rest ; 
But, father, why don't you?' 

" ' I'm getting old and weak, but still 
My heart is big with joy ; 
I've witnessed many a day like this ; 
Shout you aloud, my boy.' 

" ' Hurrah for Freedom's Jubilee ! 
God bless our native land ! 
And may I live to hold the sword 
Of Freedom in my hand.' 

" ' Well done, my boy. Grow up and love 
The land that gave you birth ; 
A home where freedom loves to dwell 
Is Paradise on earth.' 

"J. G. H." 

— Baltimore Chronicle. 

PINE CREEK— THE MOTHER TOWNSHIP. 

Pine Creek in the Delaware language is " Cucoeu-harrue," — i.e., a 
pine creek, a stream flowing through pine woods. 

This township was established by an act of Assembly in 1806, being 
the first and only township in the county, and named in honor of Pine 
Creek township, Lycoming County, from which the county and this town- 

421 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ship were taken. This township was the mother of all the others, and its 
historic reminiscences are all commemorated in the general history of the 
county. 

The resident taxables in 1S07 were 23 ; in 1814, 35 ; in 1821. in- 
cluding Perry township, 161 ; in 1S2S, 60; in 1S35, 103 ; in 1842, 98. 
The population by census in 1810 was 161 ; in 1820, 561 ; this also in- 
cluded Perry township; in 1830, not obtained : in 1840, 628. 

Though the county was organized provisionally in 1804, there seems 
to have been no records kept nor any elections held untill 1807. 

The pioneer election district in the county and in Pine Creek town- 
ship, Jefferson County, was created by an act creating certain election 
districts, and making alterations in other districts already enacted. Ap- 
proved 31st March, a.d. 1806, which read as follows, — viz., Jefierson 
County made a separate district : 

"Section 9. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the county of Jefferson shall be a separate election district, and the 
electors thereof shall hold their general elections at the house now occu- 
pied by Joseph Barnett, on Sandy Lick Creek, in said county." 

The pioneer election returns are as follows : 

" 1807 — Jefferson County. At an election held at the house of Samuel 
Scott, in said county, on Friday, the 20th of March, a.d. 1807, the fol- 
lowing persons were duly elected : 

" Supervisors, John Scott had eighteen votes, Peter Jones had eigh- 
teen votes. Signed, Samuel Scott, Thomas Lucas, judges." 

"180S — At an election held at the house of Samuel Scott, in said 
county, on the i8th day of March, a.d. 1808, the following persons were 
duly elected as returned below : 

" Supervisors, John Jones, Alexander McCoy, were duly elected ; au- 
ditors, Samuel Lucas, Samuel Scott, Moses Knapp, and Adam ^'astbinder 
were duly elected. Signed, Samuel Scott, John Dixon, judges." 

These returns are as copied from the records of Indiana County, 
where the returns had to be made, this county then being under the legal 
jurisdiction of Indiana. 

In June, about the year 1818, a terrible hail-storm swept through this 
region and extended its ravages several miles, killing and destroying the 
largest pine-trees, leaving them standing as dead. The width of this 
storm was about half a mile. 

On the 6th of June, 1806, there was a total eclipse of the sun. 
Fowls went to roost and bees hastened to their hives. The pioneers 
and Indians were greatly alarmed. 

Between the hours of three and seven o'clock in the morning of 
December 16, 181 1, two distinct shocks of earthquake startled the pio- 
neers of Jefferson County. The violence was such as to shake their log 
cabins. 

422 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer explorers of the land were Andrew Barnett and Samuel 
Scott, in 1796. 

The pioneer settler was Joseph Hutchison and wife in 179S. The 
patriarch was Joseph 15arnett, who settled here in the fall of 1800. The 
pioneer birth was Rebecca Barnett, in 1S02. 




/-' 





Aiuhcv. liaii.c.;, li. 



The pioneer marriage was Sarah Barnett to KlishiM. Graham, March 
30, 1807. 

The pioneer minister of the gospel to visit and preach was a Rev. 
Mr. Greer, a friend of Joseph Barnett. He came on a visit in 1801. 
He remained two weeks, and preached several times. He returned on a 
visit in 1802, and again preached. 

The pioneer death was that of Andrew Barnett, in the fall of 1797. 

423 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

He was buried on the bank of Mill Creek, by Samuel Scott and two 
friendly Indians, and to this day no man knoweth the exact place of his 
burial. 

The second family to follow the }5arnetts into this wilderness was Peter 
Jones, from Centre County, Pennsylvania. He came in iSoi. In the 
winter of 1801, Stephen Roll, August Shultz, and a negro named Fudge 
Van Camp started on foot near Easton for the Barnett settlement. 
A\'hen they struck " Meade's trail," at the mouth of Anderson's Creek, 
there yet remained for them to travel thirty-three miles of unbroken wil- 
derness. They were foolish enough to start on this part of their journey 
without anything to eat on the way. After they started it snowed all 
day in this wilderness until the snow was two feet deep. Van Camp was 
a large and powerful man. He undertook to break the road for the other 
two, but hunger and cold overcame him when within a mile of Barnett's, 
and this last mile he had to make on his hands and knees. 

He reached Barnett's at midnight, half frozen, and so exhausted as to 
be scarcely able to tell of the condition of his two companions. A rescue 
party of four or five men was at once started. Roll was met a few rods 
from the house^ making his way on his hands and knees. Shultz was found 
some two miles farther, almost frozen. He lost several toes from his feet, 
and eventually died from this exposure. Roll and Van Camp lived to be 
old men. In 1802, John, William, and Jacob Vastbinder settled on what 
is now the Ridgeway road, near Kirkman Post-Office. In the year 1S03, 
Ludwig Long, a hunter, settled on the Ridgeway road, two miles from 
Brookville. He was father of our great hunters, Mike, John, Dan, and 
William Long. He started the first distillery. At an early day he 
moved to Ohio, leaving his sons here. Jacob Mason and Master John 
Dixon came in 1802. In 1805 or 1806, John Matson settled where Robert 
now lives. 

The second or third mill built in the county was at the head of what 
is now Heidrick, Matson & Co.'s mill pond. It was erected by Moses 
Knapp in 1800. In the thirties the Matsons and McCulloughs erected 
mills on the North Fork and Mill Creek. These were only mills in 
name, being the old up-and-down mills, or commonly called thunder- 
gust mills. The mill at Bellport was erected in 1830 by Benjamin 
Bailey. It was carried away in a flood, and then John J. V. Thompson 
rebuilt it in 1838. 

The pioneer graveyard in the county was located on the property 
now of William C. Evans, near the junction of the Ridgeway road with 
the pike. I found this graveyard in my boyhood, and thought they were 
Indian graves. My mother told me its history. The graves are now lost 
and the grounds desecrated. 'J'he second graveyard in the township was 
laid out in 1842, on Nathaniel Butler's farm, and is still called Butler's 
graveyard. 

424 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In I Si 6, Cyrus, Nathaniel, and David Butler, and John Lattimer set- 
tled on farms near the Barnetts. 

Pioneer efforts to secure a county road at September term, 1S07, of 
Indiana Court : 

William C. Brady, Thomas Lucas, Samuel Scott, James INIcHenry, 
Captain Hugh Brady, and James Johnston were appointed to lay out a 
road from Joseph Barnett's, on Sandy Lick Creek, Jefferson County^ to 
Brady's mill, on the Little Mahoning, Indiana County. 

The pioneer road was the Indiana and Port Barnett, for the creation 
of which the petition of a number of citizens of Jefferson County and 
parts of Indiana County was presented to the Indiana County Court at 
the September term, 1808. The points of the road were from Pjrady's 
mill, on Little Mahoning Creek, Indiana County, to Sandy Lick Creek, 
in Jefferson County (Port Barnett), where the State (Milesburg and 
Waterford) road crosses the same. The Court appointed as viewers 
Samuel Lucas, John Jones, ]Moses Knapp, and Samuel Scott, of Jefferson 
County, and John Park and John Wier, of Indiana County, to view and 
make a report at the next term. This road was probably built in iSio. 

The pioneer justice of the peace was Thomas Lucas, appointed Janu- 
ary 16, 1809. 

The early settlers to erect cabins on the Indiana road in Pine Creek 
township were Joseph Carr in 181 7, Manuel Reitz, George Gray, and 
Samuel McQuiston in 1S27, John Matthews in 1830, Elijah Clark in 
1833, Andrew Hunter and William Wyley in 1834, and Isaac Swineford 
in 1S35. The pioneer school-house in this settlement was built in 1830 ; 
the pioneer graveyard was on the McCann farm in 1830. 

" Fines for Misdemeanors. — In the early days of the county's his- 
tory the penalties prescribed by the laws of the Commonwealth for any 
offence against any of the statutes was rigorously enforced, seemingly 
without regard to the social standing of the offender. Sabbath-breaking, 
swearing, and intoxication seem to have been the sins most vigorously 
punished by the arm of the law. In an old docket, opened on the 
15th day of January, 18 10, by Thomas Lucas, the first justice of the 
peace of Pine Creek township, are the following entries : 

(Copy.) 

" ' (L. S.) Jefferson County, jj- .• 

" 'Be it remembered that on the seventh day of May, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten, Gabriel Puntus, of sd 
county, is convicted before me, Thomas Lucas, Esq., one of the Justices 
of the Peace in and for sd county, going to and from mill unnecessarily 
upon the sixth of May instant, being the Lord's day, commonly Coled 
Sunday, at the county aforesaid, contrary to the Act of Assembly in 
;s 425 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Such cases made and provided, and I do adjudj him to forfeit for the 
same the sum of four dollars. 

"■ ' Given under my hand the day and year aforesaid. 

" ' Tho.mas Lucas.' 
(Copy.) 

" ' Commonwealth vs. John Dixon. 

" ' (L. S.) Jefferson County, ss .• 

"'Be it remembered that on the 13th day of January, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, John Dixkson, of 
Pine Creek township, in the county of Jefferson, is convicted before me, 
Thomas Lucas, one of the Justices of the Peace, in and for sd county, of 
being intoxicated with the drink of spirituous liquors, and for cursing one 
profane curse, in these words : " God dam," that it is to say this Day at 
Pine Creek township, aforesaid, contrary to the Act of General Assembly 
in such cases made and provided, and I do aguge him to forfeit for the 
same the sum of sixty-seven cents for each offence. 

" ' Given under my hand and seal the day and year afore s'd. 

" ' Thomas Lucas. 

" * Justice's Cost 35 cents ; Constable's Cost 31 cents.' 

" Lewis Long is also convicted in 1815 for 'having hunted and car- 
ried the carcis of one deer on the 23d day of July instant, being the 
Lord's day, commonly Coled Sunday, up Pine Creek township aforesaid,' 
and sentenced to pay four dollars penalty. 

" The first entry in this old docket is an action for debt. ' Thomas 
McCartney vs. Freedom Stiles, to recover on a promisory note, dated 
June 20th, 1805, for $4.25.' 

" The next entry is an action of surety of the peace : 

(Copy.) 

" ' Commonwealth 7^s. Henry Vastbinder. 

"' Surety of the peace and good behavour on oath of Fudge Van 
Camp, January 25th, 1810. 

" 'Warrant issued January 25th, 1810. 

" ' Fudge Van Camp, principal, tent, in $100, to appear, &c. Samuel 
Lucas, (bail,) tent, in $100, to prosicute, l\:c. referred to Samuel Scott, 
John Scott, Elijah M. Graham, Peter Jones, and John Matson. 

"'Justice's Costs. — information 15 cents. Warrant 15 cents, 2 recog- 
nizances 40 cents, notice to refferees 15 cents, One Sum. 3 names 19 
cents, One Sum. i name 10 cents, Swearing 3 witnesses 56 cents. Five 
referees 35 cents, Entering rule of rcncwment 10 cents, Constable's Cost 
$1.96, referees S2.50, Witnesses Si-5o. 

" ' We, the refferees within named having heard the parties, the proofs 
and allegation to wit : We find from the evidence that the run is to be 

426 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the line between Fudge Van Camp and Henry Vastbinder, from the line 

of the tract of land to the corner of by the camp, and thence along 

the old fence to the corner, thence by a direct line the same across the 
ridge to the run, and each party to enjoy these clearings till after harvest, 
next, Fudge Van Camp to enjoy the benefit of his sugar camp till the 
line is run, and John Jones and Moses Knap is for to run the line be- 
tween the parties, and eavery one of the partis is to move there fence on 
their own ground, sd Van Camp is to leave sixteen feet and a half in the 
clear between the stakes of the fences for a lane or outlet between the 
partis, and each party is to give sureity for there good behavior unto each 
other, there goods and chatties, for the term of one year and one day from 
entering of sureity, to be entered ameditly if it can be had ; if not to be 
had at the present time, bail is to be entered on Tuesday, the sixth day 
of February, A.D. iSio. The plaintiff to pay fifty cents costs, and the 
defendant the remainder of the costs of Sute. 

" ' Witness our hands and seals this second day of february, A.D. 1810. 

" ' Sajiuel Scott, (L. S.) 
John Scott, (L. S.) 
Elijah M. Graham, (L. S.) 
Peter Jones, (L. S.) 
John Matson, (I-. S.) 
" * Before me Thomas Lucas.' 

" The fines for Sabbath-breaking, profane swearing, and intoxication 
seem to have been rigidly enforced all through the term of office of Mr. 
Lucas, as we find numerous entries, in some instances the fines amount- 
ing to twelve dollars for one person. Numerous other offences are en- 
tered, the most curious being the indictments of the ' Commonwealth t's. 
Francis Godyear and Mollie Taylor for Poligamy,' September 12, 1S35. 

"In the same old docket is the account of Thomas Lucas's fees on 
probates on fox, wolf, and wild-cats, from February 14, 1S32, to June 11, 
1838. Among the hunters are the names of William and Michael Long, 
Adam, Philip, Henry, and William Vastbinder, John, Samuel, and James 
Lucas, John and Thomas Callen, Jacob Shaffer, James Linn, Ralph Hill, 
John Wyncoop, William Dougherty, Frederick Heterick, Nelson T. 
McQuiston, William Horan, and William Douglass. The list embraces 
thirty wild-cats, forty-eight wolves, seventy-six foxes, and one panther 
(shot by Thomas Callen). The justice's fee on each probate was twelve 
and a half cents. 

" On the whole, however, the early settlers of the county seem to have 
been a law-abiding people, for, with the exception of a (qw actions for 
'assault and battery,' there were no serious breaches of the peace in the 
first quarter of a century that this old docket legally chronicles." — A't?/'^' 
Scoff^s History of Jefferson County. 

427 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The following were the early settlers up to 1818 : 

Jacob Mason, Richard Van Camp, Samuel States, John Hice, Henry 
Lott, Joseph Clements, Charles Sutherland (colored), Robert Dickson, 
Enos Van Camp (colored), Frederick Frants, George Evans, Robert 
Knox, William Hayns, Israel Stiles, Hulet Smith, John Templeton, and 
Joseph Greenawalt, and perhaps a few others. 

Fudge Van Camp was the pioneer colored settler. 

The pioneer school in the county was started here, a description of 
which will be found under the chapter on education. 

" The first election in the county was held at Port Barnett, and up to 
18 iS it was the only polling and election precinct in and for the county. 
At the last election (when the township was the whole county), in 
181 7, Friday, March 14, the names of the contestants for office and the 
votes were as follows, — viz. : Constable, Elijah M. Graham, 22 votes; 
John Dixon, 13 votes. Supervisors, Joseph Barnett, 25 votes; Thomas 
Lucas, 28 votes. Overseer of the Poor, Henry Keys, 9 votes; John 
Matson, 6 votes. Fence Appraisers, Moses Knapp, 7 votes; William 
Vastbinder, 7 votes. Town Clerk, Elijah M. Graham, 22 votes. 

" Signed and attested by the judges, Walter Templeton and Adam 
Vastbinder." — Kate Scoffs History of Jefferson Coii-uty. 

From I S3 1 to 1842, Andrew Barnett kept a licensed tavern at Port 
Barnett. Jacob Kroh kept the tavern from 1S42 until 1843. Isaac 
Packer kept the log tavern near Peter Baum's from 1834 until 1842. In 
1834 there were but two buildings between Port Barnett and Reynolds- 
ville, — Packer's tavern and Hance Vastbinder's house near where 
Emerickville now is. The pioneer store was opened by the Barnetts 
and Samuel Scott, who, in 1826, sold it out to Jared B. Evans, and he, 
in the fall of 1830, removed it to Jefferson Street, Brookville, Penn- 
sylvania. 

PORT BARNETT. 

Port pjarnett, where the pioneer settlers of Jefferson County founded 
a home for themselves, was the property of Joseph IJarnett and Samuel 
Scott. The county records describe the ownership of this property as 
follows : 

"The Port Barnett property containing two hundred and fifty-six 
acres and one hundred perches. One part conveyed to Samuel Scott by 

Jeremiah Parker, by deed dated i6th day of , 18 18, recorded in 

Indiana County, in Deed Book No. 2, page 727, and by sundry convey- 
ances to Andrew 15arnett. Other moiety conveyed to Joseph Barnett by 
Jeremiah Parker, by deed dated 26th of June, 1821, recorded in Indiana 
County, in Deed Book No. 4, page 482, and by will of Joseph Barnett 
devised to Andrew Barnett." 

In 1 81 8 there were but three saw-mills in the county, and nineteen 
miles of county road. ''The only road then in this region was one 

42S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

from Port Barnett, which crossed the Sandy near where Fuller's dam is 
now built, and from thence to Indiana. There were fourteen men em- 
ployed in cutting it out, under the direction of Judge Shippen, of 
Meadville. 

" The party had a wagon to haul their provisions, and was composed of 
INIr. Kennedy and two men named Halloway and Williamson. No respect 
was had for the future comfort of the traveller, or the poor horses that 
had to toil over the road, no digging was done, and it was up one hill 
and down another. The second road was from Port Barnett to Troy, 
and was made in the same manner as the other. These roads were made 
so as to pass the homes of as many settlers as possible. The unseated 
taxes were sufficient to pay all expenses. The nearest grist-mill was run 
by a man named Parks, and was the Knapp mill. This mill was in 
what is now Brookville. The bolting was done by hand, and William 
Kennedy says he often took his turn at this work when waiting for his 
grist." 

Timber tracts could be bought for twenty-five and fifty cents per acre. 
In 1S20 there were twenty-five saw-mills in the county, and one hundred 
and fifty miles of county road. The early paths of the settlers ran over 
the steepest part of the hills, and these paths were usually enlarged into 
roads. These paths and roads were run over the hills by sighting from 
peak to peak with a compass to keep from being lost in the wild woods. 

THE PIONEER SQUARE TIMBER RAFT. 

Ludwig Long and sons about 1834 ran the first square timber raft. It 
took them six days to reach the mouth. Up to the year 1S30 our people 
were unable to run much timber to market in any other way than in 
boards. A Yankee by the name of Samuel Seeley moved into this county 
about the year 1830 or 1832 and located at Port Barnett. This man 
Seeley either invented or introduced into this wilderness the idea of 
rafting timber sticks together with white oak bows and ash pins. 

About the year 1834, Long's timber raft was taken out near Port 
Barnett, hauled to the creek, and rafted in. It was three platforms long. 
The timber sticks were of uniform length, which left no stiffness in the 
structure. The oar-blades and stem, as was the custom then, were hewed 
out of a good-sized pine-tree in one body. The cables were hickory, and 
the halyards wild grape-vine. The pilot stood on the front end of the 
raft, and steered from there. The timber was marketed at Pittsburg. 

•'Although more or less of the lumber has from the origin of the 
business until now been annually exported, the trade in stiuare timber 
and spars was not until 1842 considered remunerative. Prior to that it 
was carried on from necessity. It was important to clear the land that 
bread might be raised and population supported, and, whilst the growing 
trees were considered of little or no value, our citizens were satisfied if 

429 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the pittance they then received for their timber would pay them for the 
labor of cutting and exporting. 

" During all the early years of the settlement, varied with occasional 
pleasure and excitements, the great work of increasing the tillable ground 
went slowly on. The implements and tools were few and of the most 
primitive kinds, but the soil that had long held in reserve the accumu- 
lated richness of centuries produced splendid harvests, and the husband- 
man was well rewarded for his labor. The soil was warmer then than 
now, and the seasons earlier. The wheat was occasionally pastured in 
the spring to keep it from growing up so early and so fast as to become 
lodged. The harvest came early, and the yield was often from twenty to 
thirty bushels per acre. Corn grew fast, and roasting ears were to be 
had by the ist of August in most seasons." 

PERRY TOWNSHIP. 

This was the second organized township, being taken, in 1818, from 
Pine Creek. The division line separating at that time these two town- 
ships was called the " Mason and Dixon line of Jefferson County." This 
township was named in honor of Commodore Perry, the hero of the navy 
on the Lakes, in the war of 1812; and its boundary then was, on the 
north by Pine Creek township, east by Clearfield County, south by 
Indiana County, and west by Armstrong County. There are two pioneer 
villages in the township, — viz., Perrysville and Whitesville ; and the 
former has a post-office called Hamilton, and the latter's post-office is 
Valier ; also the taxables were as follows : in 182S, 85 ; 1835, -°9 > 1S42, 
251. The population by census of 1840 was 1076. 

The pioneer settler in what is now Perry township was John pjell. 
He erected his cabin there in 1809. His nearest neighbor was nine 
miles distant, in Indiana County, and the P>arnetts were the nearest on 
the north side. Bell came from Indiana Town. He died on the 19th of 
May, 1855, in his eighty-sixth year. He was an intelligent, industrious 
farmer, a justice of the peace, appointed in i Si 8 by C Governor Findley, 
and held this office for twenty-five years by appointment or election. 
Once, while on his way home from Port Earnett, he observed an Indian 
taking aim at him with his rifle from behind a tree. Mr. Bell said in his 
lifetime, "That Indian was never seen afterwards." Mr. John Bell was 
a great hunter, during his life in Jefferson County he killed two panthers, 
ninety-three wolves, three hundred and six bears, and over six hundred 
deer. 

The next settler in Perry was Archibald Hadden. He came from 
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 18 10, and settled near Mr. John 
Bell. In 181 2, Hugh McKee, a soldier of this war, settled near Perrys- 
ville. John Postlethwait came in 1818, Reuben Hickox in 1822. 

Reuben Hickox's hunting exploits alone would make a book. He, 

43" 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in three days, caught six bears, and in the early part of the season, in 
less than three months, secured over fifty of the " bruin" family. He 
trapped and hunted principally for bears and wolves. Wild cats were 
numerous, and often got into his traps, but he cared naught for them, 




Perry township. 

as their fur was valueless, only bringing in the market ten cents apiece. 
As for the deer, they formed the major portion of his bill of fare. 
Turkeys, wild ducks, etc., were numerous, and whenever he had a desire 
for fowl, his trusty rifle would soon secure an amount far in excess of the 
wants of his family. 

Other early settlers in Perry were William Johnston, Benjamin Mc- 
Bride, William Stewart, Isaac Lewis, Samuel Xewcomb, and Thomas S. 
Mitchell. 

One of the most useful and prominent citizens of Perry township was 
Thomas Sharp Mitchell, who migrated in 1S28, at the age of fifteen years, 
to the wilderness of Perry township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. 
He came in the employ of Alva Payne, from Armstrong County, Penn- 
sylvania, who in the year 1S2S opened the pioneer store in what is now 
Perrysville. Young Mitchell was Payne's clerk. In addition to being 
salesman in the store, Thomas peddled with a wagon among the pioneers, 
trading goods for deer pelts, furs, etc. In this vocation he sometimes ex- 
tended his trips into the adjoining counties. He peddled and clerked in 

431 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

this way for about two years, when Payne left the country for parts un- 
known. From 1S31 to 1S37, Mitchell peddled for himself. In 1837 he 
and his brother James opened a general merchandise store in Perrysville, 
and continued in active operation as a firm until 1842, when James 
moved to Indiana County, Pennsylvania, leaving Thomas still engaged 
in merchandising, lumbering on the Mahoning, and droving. Our enter- 




Early barn. 

prising merchants were drovers of horses and cattle, and Thomas S. 
Mitchell was a successful one. For several years he "drove" several 
droves each season, a single drove sometimes containing as many as four 
hundred head of cattle. Thomas S. Mitchell's mother was Agnes Sarah 
Sharp, daughter of Captain Sharp, one of the pioneers on the Kiskimini- 
tas, and of some fame as an Indian fighter. He died of wounds received 
in an engagement with redskins outside of l-'ort Pitt. But the hero cap- 
tain landed his wife and children in Fort Pitt, wliere he died in fourteen 
days from his wounds. 

Thomas S. Mitchell married Miss Sarah Blose, of Perry township, in 
1 83 1. She was a daughter of (rcorge Blose, who emigrated from West- 

432 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

moreland County, Pennsylvania, to Perry township, Jefferson County, 
in the twenties. George Blose OAvned the land where Perrysville is 
now located. 

Thomas S. Mitchell was a large man of exceedingly fine presence, 
able, intelligent, genial, social, and popular. He served a term as sheriff. 
I knew him well, and remember him with great kindness and respect. 
He died in August, 1SS3. His wife died in 1S75. 

The pioneer church was built in 1S35, at Perry; the pioneer school- 
house in 1S20, in what is now Perrysville. The pioneer saw-mill was 
built by Elijah Heath, above the Round Bottom. The pioneer hotel 
in Perrysville was kept by Irvin Robinson, and the pioneer store was 
opened by Alva Payne. The pioneer graveyard was located where Perry 
church was built, and Robert Stunkard was the pioneer burial. 

x\t the pioneer election held at Bell's, on Friday, March 20, 1S18, 
the following were contestants for the township offices, — viz. : " Con- 
stables, David Hamilton, 5 votes ; Jacob Hoover, 3 votes. Supervisors, 
John Bell, 5 votes ; Hugh McKee, 5 votes. Auditors, Archibald Hadden, 
5 votes; Jesse Armstrong, 5 votes; James McClennen, 5 votes; Michael 
Lance, 5 votes. Fence Appraisers, Joseph Crossman, 5 votes ; Adam 
Long, 5 votes. Overseers, Henry Lott, 5 votes ; Elijah Dykes, 5 votes. 
Signed, Archibald Hadden, Hugh McKee, judges. 

" At the next election the voters had increased to eight, and at the last 
election before Young township was formed the number of voters ap- 
pears to have been seventy-seven. At this election in 1S25 'schoolmen' 
appear to have been voted for, John W. Jenks, Charles C. Gaskill, and 
John Bell being elected. This is the only record of any such office in 
the election returns of the county from 1S07 to 1S30. These elections 
were held at the house of John Bell, and in the first ten years he was 
eight times elected to office, being supervisor, auditor, overseer of the 
poor, and schoolman.'' 

Act of the Legislature, No. 174, establishing the polling-place: 

" Section 29. The electors of the township of Perry, in the county 
of Jefferson, shall hereafter hold their general elections at the house of 
William Stunkard, in said township. Approved — April 15, 1835." 

Among the pioneer and early settlers along Little Sandy Creek, in 
Perry township, were Andrew Shaffer, David Milliron, and Mr. Vanlear. 

Daniel Geist erected his cabin there in 1834, and founded Geistown, 
now called Worthville. He built a grist mill in 1840. Henry Frease 
located also near where the town of Ringgold now stands, and erected a 
grist-mill about 1840. John Philliber, Ludwick Byerly, Henry Xulf, 
Conrad Nulf, Solomon Gearhart, George Reitz, and Michael Heterick 
all erected cabins on farms in the early thirties. Thomas Holt, a veteran 
of the war of 1S12, settled there in 1S37. Samuel Lerch, a carpenter 
and cabinet-maker, erected his cabin near Ringgold in 1836. Farther 

433 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

up the stream from Geistown, near where the Indiana and Brookville road 
now crosses, William Hadden settled in 1S31, and, being a great hunter, 
killed annually turkeys, bears, and deer. George and William Newcomb 
erected cabins in 1825, John Jones in 1826, Peter Depp in 1828, Alex- 
ander and William McKinstrey in 1833, Joseph Manners in 1835. James 
Gray, in 1836, opened a small store near McKinstrey's. James Gray was 
postmaster for Cool Spring. In \8;^t,, Frederick Sprankle erected a grist- 
mill near the junction of Big Run and Kellar's Run. Adam Dobson 
located his cabin in 1S33, John and William Coulter in 1841, and Samuel 
Burket in 1842. 

YOUNG TOWNSHIP. 

Young, the third township, was organized in 1826, and was taken 
from Perry township. The township was then of very large proportions, 
but is now rather attenuated. It was named after Judge Young, then 
president judge of the Westmoreland iudicial circuit. 

The taxables in the township were, in 1828, 73 ; in 1829, 70 ; in 1831, 
70; in 1835, 146; in 1842, 271. Tlie population by the census in 1840 
was 132 1. 

Abraham Weaver was the pioneer settler in Young township. In 181 8, 
Dr. John W. Jenks, Rev. David Barclay, and Nathaniel Tindle came to 
what is now Young township, prospecting for a future home, and they 
were so well pleased that in the spring of 1819 they returned with their 
families and settled where Punxsutawney now stands. Phineas W. Jenks 
was the first white child born. Rev. Barclay and Dr. Jenks donated and 
laid out the ground for the present cemetery. 

Isaac P. Carmalt, John B. Henderson, and John Hess came in 1821, 
Joseph Long came in 1824, James St. Clair came in 1831, William and 
Robert Campbell and John Dunn came in 1S32, Obed Morris came in 
1824, Daniel Graffius came in 1823. 

Among the early lumbermen were [esse .Armstrong and William 
Neel. 

The pioneer church erected was a hewed log building, — Presbyterian. 
The first school-house was built of round logs in 1822, on or near T. 
Pantall's farm. Rev. Barclay laid out Punxsutawney for " a white man's 
town" in 1821. In 1832 it contained fifteen dwellings, two taverns, 
and a store. Adam Long was the pioneer hunter. 

The pioneer tavern was kept by Elijah Heath, and his first license to 
sell liquor was in 1824. This tavern was built by Elijah Heath in 
1824 

The pioneer military company was organized in the thirties. William 
Long was captain in 1840. The company was attached to the Third 
Battalion, Second Brigade, Fifteenth Division, Pennsylvania Militia. 

The pioneer election held for the township of Young after it was sep- 

434 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

arated from Perry, as the returns appear in the office of the prothonotary 
at Indiana, are as follows : 

''Young township return for 1S26: Constable, Joseph Long had 32 
votes, John Hum 11 votes. Signed Philip Bowers, judge, etc." 

At an election held at the house of Elijah Heath, in Punxsutawney, 
Young township, on the i6th of March, 1S27, the following persons 
contested for the township offices: Constable, Joseph T^ong, 22 votes; 
Obed Morris, 13 votes. Supervisors, Nathaniel Tindle, 29 votes : PJenoni 
Williams, 32 votes. Auditors, Andrew H. Bowman, 30 votes; Josiah 
Caldwell, 27 votes ; Matthias Clawson, 24 votes ; Philip Bowers, 18 votes. 
Poor Overseers, Frederick Rinehart, 15 votes ; Christian Rishel, 20 votes. 
Fence Appraisers, Adam Long (cooper), 20 votes ; John Hum, 9 votes. 
Signed, Frederick Rinehart, Joseph Long, Josiah Caldwell, judges ; 
Matthias Clawson, A. H. Bowman, clerks. 

" TURNPIKE NOTICE. 

"The stockholders of the Armstrong and Clearfield Turnpike Road 
Company are hereby notified that an election will be held at the house 
of James Caldwell, in Punxsutawney, on Wednesday, the 1 7th day of 
September next, to elect officers of said company for the ensuing year. 
By order of the President. 

"William Campbell, Secretary. 

"Punxsutawney, August 17, 1S34." 

" One of the first settlers of the southern portion of the county, and, 
if tradition serves us right, one of the earliest lumbermen of the Maho- 
ning, was Jesse Armstrong, who built his cabin in a bend of the creek, 
now called Armstrong's Bend, a short distance below where the mill of 
J. U. Gillespie now stands. He, with William Neel, devised the plan of 
constructing a raft, and early in the spring of iSiS the two men, with 
Sally, Armstrong's wife, and, tradition says, assisted by two Indians, who 
had been in the neighborhood, perhaps visiting the graves of their 
people, started on their raft to explore the lower waters of the Mahoning, 
a peaceful enough stream in summer, but when swollen by the spring 
rains and melting snows a veritable rushing, foaming river. The raft, 
which was not one of the deftly put together square timber or board 
rafts of the present day, but constructed of round logs roughly withed 
together, was swept down the mad current. The oars were poor, and the 
oarsmen and pilot unskilled and ignorant of the stream ; and at length 
the frail craft struck on the rocks, and the crew barely escaped with their 
lives to the shore. Indeed, poor Sally Armstrong would have found a 
watery grave had not Billy Xeel caught her long red hair and pulled her 
out of the seething flood. It is said that the eddy where this catastrophe 

435 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

occurred was ever after known as ' Sally's Eddy.' Just before this mis- 
hap occurred, Sally had prepared some food from the stores which they 
had with them ; but Owenoco, one of the Indians, said, ' No, no, we no 
eat now; maybe never eat.' At the same time he was trying with great 
strength and skill to keep the tossing craft from dashing against the great 
rocks that loomed up on every side. Suddenly they were drawn into the 
fearful eddy, and, the oar of Owenoco breaking off suddenly, he lost 
control of the craft. Extricating themselves with difficulty from their 
perilous predicament, the white men and Indians finally got their broken 
raft safely moored to shore and tied fast to a tree. Then, by the aid of 
a flint and torch, the Indians called down a sacred fire, which they as- 
cribed as a gift from their Manitou, and soon the little band of lumber- 
men and the poor drenched lumber-woman were gathered around the 
welcome fire. All their provisions, with the exception of some bread 
and salt Sally had placed in a box, which was saved, went down into the 
watery flood, with some crocks of honey, the product of wild bees, which 
Sally was taking to Pittsburg to purchase finery with. The bows and 
arrows of the Indians soon, however, procured them food, and in the 
cheerful light and warmth of the fire they soon regained their spirits, 
and after a night's rest were ready early the next morning to again under- 
take the perilous journey, and without any more serious mishaps gained 
their journey's end, being safely landed at Pittsburg, where their dusky 
companions bade them farewell forever and wended their way to Canada, 
there to join the remainder of their tribe. 

"Armstrong and his wife exchanged their logs for such provisions 
and wearing apparel as they could carry, and returned on foot to Punxsu- 
tawney. It was after night when they came in sight of their cabin, 
where Adam Eong and his wife dwelt with them. The loud barking of 
the dog announced their coming, and Adam said to his wife, ' I bet a 
deer-skin it bees Jess and Sail comin' ; and soon the weary travellers 
were seated around their own fireside, enjoying the rest they so much 
needed; and while they partook of the repast of bear's meat, etc., that 
I\Irs. Eong hastily provided for them, they told the story of their perilous 
journey and its successful ending, and Adam T^ong in turn narrated the 
story of his fight with the bear whose skin was then drying on the wall 
of the cabin, and which he had killed near their very door. ' Oh, lor', 
but I am tired 1' said Mrs. Armstrong. ' I would not do that again for 
all the plagued raft and honey. I feel so crippled up I can scarcely walk.' 
* Yes,' said Adam, ' but you give the honey to the fish an' to te allegators.' 
'Yes, I lost my seven crocks of honey, and if it hadn't been for Billy 
Neel 1 would have went with the honey. I'll always respect him for 
that. Jesse never tried to put out his hand to catch me,' said the irate 
dame. ' ^Vhy, Sally,' said Armstrong, ' you know that when you jumped 
in I was trying to save myself on the other siile of the raft.' ' lUit what 

436 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

te tivel you do mit Xeel?' said Adam. ' Did de Injun kill him, or did 
you sell him mit your raft?' 'Oh,' said Jesse, ' Neel went with us to 
Pittsburg, where we left him. We got on Leslie Ramsey's boat. I 
helped to push the boat up to Kittanning, and Sally and me come afoot 
from there along the Indian path. We come it in two days.' 

" Then Adam Long told the story of the bear's death. His dog had 
started the bear on the hill above the creek, and they had followed it 
from crag to crag until at last, just on the bank of the creek, it turned 
and gave them battle, and caught the dog in its embrace, when the 
hunter dealt the huge beast a powerful blow with his hatchet. The 
furious animal relaxed its hold on the dog and sprang at Adam with ex- 
tended jaws, and seemed to realize that the conflict was for life or death. 
The hunter's gun was useless. He had no time to aim at the bear, but, 
springing aside, he drew his long, keen hunting-knife and returned to the 
charge. The huge black beast was standing erect, and received the 
thrust of the knife in his neck, and as Long was about to give him an- 
other blow with his knife he struck him with his powerful paw and 
stretched him on the ground, while the knife flew from his hand into the 
creek ; and had not the dog at this juncture come to the rescue, poor 
Adam would never have lived to tell of this exploit ; but seeing his 
master at the mercy of their common enemy, he sprang upon the bear, 
and there ensued a tierce struggle ; but the bear was badly wounded, and 
the dog at last threw him almost into the creek, when the bear gave up 
the contest, and, springing into the water, made for the other shore, the 
brave dog still holding on to his flank. Adam Long had by this time 
recovered his faculties, and, reloading his gun, fired at the bear, the ball 
taking effect in his shoulder. He then plunged into the creek and en- 
countered him upon the other shore with his hatchet, and soon despatched 
him. He believed that the huge beast would have weighed at least four 
hundred pounds. Adam always loved to narrate this story." — History 
of Jefferson County. 

Among the early settlers of Young township, east of Punxsutawney, on 
the Mahoning stream, were Jesse Armstrong and John Cirube in 1833, 
Daniel Smeyers in 1S39, Abraham Rudolph in 1833, Jacob Bowersock, 
and Daniel Graffius. John Hess built a saw-mill in 1828. James H. Bell 
settled on this stream in 1831, built a grist-mill in 1833, and opened a 
store in 1S40. James McCracken erected his cabin near Bell in 1S39, 
building saw-mills and farming. Mr. McCracken was an active, popular 
man. John Pifer erected his cabin in what is now known as Paradise in 
1S29. 

The pioneer church in the Pifer settlement was built in 1S40. Other 
early settlers to erect cabins on farms north of the Mahoning in 1830 
were John Smith, John Deemer, William Best, Samuel McGhee, and 
others. 

437 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Joseph and Daniel North erected cabins in the early thirties. The 
pioneer saw-mill was built on VAg Run by William Best in 1S30. 

This illustration is of South Side pioneers who, by invitation of D. 
S. Altman, Esq., and wife, partook of a dinner at their home in Punxsu- 




■^x 



X a 



tl o 









tawney, Pennsylvania, on the 8ih day of February, a d. 1877. This 
picture was taken with the pioneers seated and standing in the snow. 
The first name is in the standing row, and the second name in the row 
of seated pioneers. 

43S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



Rev. Jacob F. Wall 
David Willard . . 
Thomas McKee 
Isaac P. Carmalt . 
Robert Law . . . 
James Winslow 
James H. Bell . . 
Reuben Hickox . 
J. K. Coxen, Esq. 
John Drum, Esq. . 
Dr. George Kurtz 
Isaac Rodgers . . 
Ellis Evans . . . 
Joseph W. Winslow 
Abraham Ruth. 
Obed Morris . . . 



Date of Birth. Where Born. Located in Jef- 
ferson Co., Pa. 

June 29, 1805 . . Allegheny County, Pa. . . . 1854 

June II, 1801 . . Westmoreland County, Pa. . 1837 

Oct. 24, 1801 . . Centre County, Pa 1839 

Sept. 9, 1794 . . Philadelphia, Pa 1819 

Nov. 10, 1802 . . Huntingdon County, Pa. . . 1836 

Apr. 14, 1798 . . Maine 1S18 

Oct. 18, 1800 . . New York City 1826 

Nov. II, 1794 . . New Haven, Conn 1820 

July 12, 1S02 . . Mercer County, Pa 1844 

July 12, 1806 . . Westmoreland County, Pa. . 1831 

Nov. II, 1792 . . Germany 1836 

June 18, 1806 . . Huntingdon County. Pa. 

Feb. 13, 1788 . . Schuylkill County, Pa. . . . 1837 

, Dec. 10, 1S04 . . Maine i8i8 

Dec. 8, 1792 . . Bucks County, Pa 1824 



These old pioneers met after this event annually for a few years at the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Altman, to partake of a dinner and relate inci- 
dents of pioneer hardships ; but sickness, extreme old age, and death 
soon stopped their pleasant reunions. 



"A PIONEER POSTAL ROUTE. 

" More than sixty seven years ago the first Tuesday of April, 1830, a 
bright, beautiful morning, I started forth from my log cabin home with 
a United States mail-bag, on my black pacing horse Billy, with Bob 
Thompson, then about my own age (twelve years), on his dwarf mule 
Bully, to penetrate the wilderness through a low grade of the Allegheny 
Mountains, between the Allegheny River at Kittanning and the west 
branch of the Susquehanna River at Curwensville, sixty-five miles and 
return each week, Robert going along to show me the way. 

" I have climbed the Rockies with a burro since that period in search 
of gold and silver, but I have never met either so primitive a people or a 
rougher route of sixty-five miles than that wilderness route. The post- 
offices were Glade Run, Smicksburg, Ewing's Mill, Punxsutawney, and 
Curwensville. The first of these was eighteen miles from Kittanning, 
near where is now the little town of Dayton. 

" In about three months the route was changed up the Cowanshan- 
nock, and the Rural A'alley post-office established about two miles above 
Patterson's mill. The changed route intersected the old one at Glade 
Run post-office. The next place east of Glade Run was the residence of 
George McComb, where I rested for dinner and fed m\- horse. A stretch 
of over two miles brought me to Smicksburg, as now spelled, but the 
original founder spelled his name Schmick. Mr. Carr, the blacksmith, 

439 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

was postmaster. For more than four miles there was not a single house 
on the road, though a cabin was to be seen in the distance, until I reached 
Ewing's Mill, another post-office. My place of lodging for the first night 
was with Tames McComb, four miles from Punxsutawney, and never did 
a boy find a more pleasant home 

"The second day I rode ten miles for breakfast, passing Punxsutaw- 
ney, where Dr. Jenks was postmaster. The town was a mere hamlet, 
principally a lumbering camp, surrounded with the finest of white pine, 
which was rafted in hewed logs down Mahoning Creek to the Allegheny 
River, and thence to Pittsburg. It is a rapid, rocky, crooked stream, 
and the logs were hewed sipiare to make their transit over safe, both by 
reducing their size and securing a smooth, even surface. Six miles farther 
on was a farm, a few acres, the home of Andrew Bovvers, where I ate 
breakfast, then entered a wilderness of sixteen miles. Those sixteen 
miles of wilderness were then a most dismal district of country, heavily 
timbered with pine, spruce, hemlock, and chestnut, with much under- 
growth of laurel In this dreary waste I saw every animal native to the 
clime, except the panther, of which more hereafter. 

"After emerging from this wilderness, in which the sun was never 
visible, there was a settlement of Quakers, known as the Grampian Hills, 
near the centre of which was a fine farm, the home of a colored man, 
Samuel Cochran, where I took dinner, and then passed on to Curwens- 
ville, the end of my route. I returned to Cochran's for the second night's 
rest. The object of this return was to be ready to enter the wilderness 
and give good time to get through it before the shades of evening had 
fallen. Once I realized the wisdom of this plan when high water delayed 
me, so that I was compelled to stop at Bowers's place for the night and 
ride through the wilderness twice in a day, entering at the dawn of 
morning and reaching the place of departure amid darkness. 

" Was I lonely? If the shriek of the panther, the growl of the bear, 
the howling of the wolf, the hooting of the owl is society, I was far from 
lonely. \Vhen I realized my situation I drove the spurs into my horse 
and rushed him with all his speed. My heart-beats seemed to drown the 
racket of his lioofs upon the stony road. The return was but a repetition 
of the outgoing journey. I never made such a trip again. 

" My predecessor was John Cillespie, of whose history since I know 
nothing, but there was a story that in his ambition to create a favorable 
impression of the importance of his charge he frequently horrified a 
good Presbyterian preacher, who was the (ilade Run postmaster, by 
stuffing the mail-bag with crab-apples, and made indignant the good Mrs. 
McComb, where he had lodged the night previously, by laying the mis- 
chief to the McComb children. A plethoric mail-bag always opened the 
eyes of the rural postmaster, and it was fun to John to witness the indig- 
nation of the good Mr. Jenks and hear the screaming of laughter of the 

440 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

villagers, just arrived to get the latest news, when a peck of crab-apples, 
but no letter, rolled out on the floor at Punxsutawney. 

" Those were the days of William T. Barry as postmaster general. I 
used to collect government's moiety in each of the little post-offices in 
driblets of five to ten dollars, with the plain signature of ' Wm. T. Barry, 
P. M. G.,' attached to the orders, and looked at the great man's name 
with admiration, until I really think 1 could distinguish his handwriting 
now. 

" On more than two-thirds of the little farms no wagon-tracks were 
to be seen, all the work being done with sleds. Nevertheless, there were 
occasional freighters through the wilderness, generally loaded with salt. 
The only stores in that sixty miles were one at Glade Run and one at 
Punxsutawney. The people made all their own clothes. Nearly every 
family that had a daughter as old as fourteen years had a weaver. The 
blooming miss who learned that art was an artist indeed. It was a treat 
for the boys who had no sister weaver to carry the yarn to the neighbor girl 
and help her adjust the web for the work. Their clothes were made from 
the backs of the sheep and the flax in the field. The girls wore linsey- 
woolsey and the boys linen and tow shirts, and indeed full suits of the 
same for common work. The fine clothes for the girls were barred flan- 
nel of their own spinning, and the boys satinet, — then generally called 
cassinet, — flax, and wool. The preachers and the teachers were rever- 
enced and respected, but woe unto them if they even seemed to put on 
airs on account of their ' store clothes. ' 

" Many were the expedients for social gatherings ; but to these brave, 
industrious pioneers it was essential to unite business with pleasure, and 
I rarely heard of a party which was not utilized for the advancement of 
improvements on the farm. The singing-school was the only exception. 
In the log-rolling, the wood-chopping, the flax-skutching, the sheep- 
shearing, all the neighbors would go the rounds helping each other, in 
the spirit of the song, — 

"' Let the wide world wag as it will, 
We'll be gay and happy still.' 

" ' Skutching' was the term used for the primitive mode of separating 
the woody part of the flax from the fibre used in weaving cloth, and a 
skutching was a jolly party, in which the boys took the heavier part, and 
passed the ' hank' to the girls for the lighter, more delicate work of 
polishing. 

"Thus the logs were rolled in the clearings, the flax and wool pre- 
pared for the loom, and the firewood made ready for the winter. r>ut 
the most primitive, most amusing, and the merriest gathering of all was 
the kicking frolic. 

29 441 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" It is doubtful whether any of the readers of this book have ever seen 
a kicking frolic. Let me try to describe it. As I have said, the people 
made all their own clothes in those days. After the web was woven, the 
next process was fulling, whereby the cloth was properly shrunken for 
use. Generally it was taken to fulling-mills, but in some parts they were 
so far away and so expensive that the wits of the pioneers were compelled 
to invent a substitute. One night, at my journey's end for the day, near 
Punxsutawney, I was invited to go with the McComb boys to Hender- 
son's kicking. The girls of the whole neighborhood had spent the after- 
noon at quilting, for the quilting was an accompaniment of nearly all the 
other frolics, and at dark the boys assembled for the kicking. The good 
old Mrs. Henderson had prepared a boiler full of soapsuds. The web 
of cloth was placed on the kitchen floor, — a floor generally made from 
puncheons, — that is, logs split and smoothed with the axe and adze. 
Around the web was placed a circle of chairs, with a plough-line or a 
clothes-line circling the chairs, to hold the circle together for work. 
Thus equipped the boys took off shoes and stockings, rolled up their 
pants to their knees, placed themselves on the chairs in the circle, and 
then the kicking began. The old lady poured on the soapsuds as hot 
as the boys' feet could stand, and they sent the web whirling and the 
suds splashing to the ceiling of the kitchen, and thus the web was fulled 
to the proper thickness and dimensions. Despite the good Mrs. Hen- 
derson's protestations that ' the hard work would kill the boys,' I stripped 
and went in, and never did a boy so sweat in his life. The work was 
done. The barred flannel was ready for the girls' dresses, the blankets for 
the beds, and the satin for the boys' clothes. A merrier time boys and 
girls never enjoyed, nor did a party ever have a better supper than Mrs. 
Henderson prepared. There was no dance, but the kissing plays of the 
time lent zest to the occasions, and 

" ' In the wee sma' hours ayont tlie twal' 

all returned to happy homes. 

"The threshing machinery was unknown to the farmers anywhere, 
and the flail did the work of threshing. Even the fanning-mill was un- 
common, as I remember of but three on all that route. There was a 
mode of winnowing grain by three men, one shaking the wheat in the 
chaff through a ridder or sieve, and two waving a tightly drawn sheet, 
producing wind to separate the chaff from the grain. 

"In places I have seen hand mills for grinding corn and wheat. 
They had an upper and nether millstone, the upper stone being turned 
by a ' handle' standing nearly perpendicularly above the centre of the 
stone. 

"In the wilderness was every animal native to the clime, — the deer, 

442 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the wild turkey, the fox, the raccoon, the wolf, the porcupine, the bear, 
and the panther. There I have seen scores of such animals. Frequently 
I have met bears in pairs, but I never saw a panther, though I frequently 
heard their familiar screams. It was a shy animal, but considered the 
most dangerous of all wild animals. On one occasion, when near the 
middle of that wilderness of sixteen miles, I was startled by the fearful 
screams of a panther, which, from the sound, seemed fast approaching 
me. Hurriedly breaking a limb from a spruce -tree, I lashed my horse 
into all his speed ; still the screams became more distinct and frightful. 
I had perhaps run my horse a quarter of a mile, when a bear rushed 
through the thick underbrush across the road, not more than two rods 
ahead of me, the screaming of the panther sounding as if he was not a 
rod behind in the brush. The bear never stopped to look at me, and 1 
plied my stick to the horse's back, shoulder, and flank with all my power, 
running him until the sounds gradually died away, and the exhausted 
horse gave out and I was compelled to slacken my speed. My first stop- 
ping-place was at the house of Mr. Andrew Bowers, at the edge of the 
wilderness. I told him my story, and he replied, 'John, that was a 
"painter," and that "painter" was after that bear, and if he had come 
up to that bear when you were near it, he would have jumped onto you 
quicker than the bear. Now, John,' he continued, ' don't run, nor don't 
advance on it. If you do either, the "painter" will attack you. But 
just stop and look the "painter" in the eye, and by and by he will 
quietly walk off.' 

" I have twice seen in the wilderness that rarest of animals, the black 
fox, whose fur rivals the seal and the sable in ladies' apparel. 

" Did I ever see ghosts? Of course I did. What could a poor post- 
boy know of cause and effect in the wilderness which has since developed 
some of the most wonderful gas-wells of the age? In that wild country 
the ignis-fatuus was frequently seen. Once I saw a floating light in the 
darkness, and in my fright was trotting my horse at his best speed, when 
he stumbled on a rock, throwing me clear over his head, the mail-bag 
following. I grabbed the bags and was on my horse's back before he 
could get off his knees. The 'ghost' in the mean time had vanished. 
Once, when about half-way between Smicksburg and Punxsutawney, a 
light as brilliant, it seemed to me, as Paul saw on his way to Damascus, 
shot up under my horse. I grabbed my hat, as my hair seemed to stand 
on end. I was so alarmed that I told my story to the postmaster at 
Ewing's Mill, and he relieved my mind greatly by explaining the phe- 
nomenon. He said, 'Was there snow on the ground?' 'Yes.' And 
then he went on to relieve my fears in the most kindly way, telling me 
that all the stories about ghosts, spooks, and hobgoblins could be ex 
plained on natural principles. He said that at times natural gas exuded 
from between the rocks, and that the snow confined it. and tliat my 

443 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 

horse's shoe had struck fire from the flinty rock, and the gas exploded. 
I believed him, and my ghost story was exploded, too, but I would have 
killed a horse before I would have ventured over that spot in night-time 
again. 

" The boys of that period had as much fun in their composition as 
those of the present age. One Halloween we sauntered ' on fun intent' 
near where Dayton now stands. We lodged a yearling calf in a hay- 
mow, changed the hind wheels of the only two wagons in the neighbor- 
hood to the forward axles, and vice versa, robbed a loom and strung the 
maiden's web from tree to tree across the road, and changed the natural 
order of things generally. I remember especially that in our mischief we 
accidentally broke a window in the house of a good old couple. We re- 
paid damages by a boy slipping up and depositing fifty cents on the sill 
of the broken window. The old people were so universally esteemed that 
malicious mischief would have been investigated ; but whether the motive 
for recompense was remorse for a bad act or esteem for their two beautiful 
daughters with raven locks and black eyes, this boy will only confess for 
himself. The McComb boys reported that one of the girls called on the 
way to the store the next day for glass and expressed the gratitude of the 
family for the kind consideration of the boys in making restitution. 

"I distinctly remember how we all put in our utmost strength to 
place a log endwise against the door of Dr. Sims's house, so as to press 
it inward with such force that an urgent call before morning compelled 
the doctor to crawl out of the window." — Piinxsutawney N'ews. 

RIDGVVAY TOWNSHIP. 
THE PIONEER SETTLER AND OTHER EARLY SETTLERS — PIONEER ROAD UP 

HOGBACK HILL PIONEER GRIST-MILL FOR THE WILDERNESS PIONEER 

PHYSICIAN AND MINISTERS PIONEER BLACKSMITH THE PIONEER ELEC- 
TION — JAMES L. (;ILLIS, ETC. 

Ridgway, the fourth township, was organized in 1S26, being taken 
from Pine Creek, and named after a Mr. Jacob Ridgway, residing in 
Philadelphia, a large landholder in the township. It was then bounded 
on the north and east by McKean County, and south and west by Pine 
Creek township. The taxables in 1826 were 20 ; in 1835, 40 ; in 1842, 
75. The population by census in 1S30 was 50 ; and in 1840, 195. In 
1843 this township was separated from Jefferson County by the organiza- 
tion of a new county called Elk, and has now within its bounds the seat 
of justice for that county, and which is also named Ridgway. 

The pioneer settler of Ridgway township was "a pioneer hunter 
named General Wade and family, with a friend named Slade, who came 
to the head-waters of the Little Toby in 1798, and settled temporarily. 
In 1S03 the party returned east, but the same year came hither and built 

444 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 




445 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

a log house at the mouth of the Little Toby on the east bank. In 1806, 
while Wade and Slade were hunting near what is now Blue Rock, they 
saw an Indian girl watching them. Approaching her, Wade enticed her 
to follow him to his home, and there introduced her to Mrs. Wade. In 
1809 this Indian girl married Slade, Chief Tamisqua performing the cere- 
mony. Slade removed with his wife to where Portland now is and estab- 
lished a trading house there." — Elk County History. 

Of the early settlers Dr. A. ]\I. Clarke wrote as follows: 

"About the time of the 'late war' with England, in 181 2, some ven- 
turesome men pushed their way up the Susquehanna River and up the 
Sinnemahoning Creek to the mouth of Trout Run on Bennett's Branch, 
at which place Leonard Morey located and built a saw- mill. Dwight 
Caldwell, John Mix, and Eben Stephens came at the same time. These 
were the first settlers on Bennett's Branch. About the same time a large 
tract of country, containing some one hundred and forty thousand acres, 
which had been surveyed on warrants issued in the name of James Wil- 
son, had come into the possession of Fox, Norris &: Co., Quakers, of 
Philadelphia, who sent William Kersey as agent to construct a road into 
their lands and build a mill. The road started from a point on an old 
State road leading to Waterford, Pennsylvania, about eight miles west of 
the Susquehanna River, passed through the woods over Boon's Mountain, 
crossed Little Toby's Creek, without a bridge, where Hellen Mills now 
stand, followed up the creek seven miles to the point of Hogback Hill, 
up which it went, though steep and difficult, continued over the high and 
undulating grounds to the spot which had been selected for a mill site on 
a stream which was afterwards called Elk Creek, where the mill was built, 
about two miles from the present Centreville. Jacob Wilson was the 
miller who for many years attended this mill. Often the old man had 
to go a mile and a half from his own house to the mill to grind a small 
grist of a bushel, brought on horseback ; but his patience was quite equal 
to the emergency, and he did it without complaining. 

"A few settlers came into the county about the time the Kersey Mill 
was built ; of these I may mention Elijah Meredith, James Green, Josiah 
Taylor, J. R. Hancock, David Reesman, John Kyler, and John Shafer, 
with their families \ these constituted the Kersey settlement." 

This settlement was in Clearfield County, but was along the line of 
Jefferson, and its history is a part of ours. 

"In 1822, Alonzo and James W. Brockway settled on the Henry 
Pfeffer tract, Lottery Warrant No. 34 ; they had to cut their way down 
the creek five miles from Philetus Clark's. This was the first settlement 
in what afterwards became Snyder township, and where Brockway vi lie 
now stands. Rev. Jonathan Nichols settled on the Brandy Camp. He 
was the first clergyman who settled in this section, and spent his life in 
serving the people. He was the first physician, and his visits were re- 

446 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

quired over a large extent of country. As a clergyman, his ministrations 
were generally well accepted, and his meetings as well attended as could 
be in a country so sparsely settled ; people frequently went six or eight 
miles to meeting. In the winter their carriages were sleds drawn by 
oxen ; in the summer, men, women, and children could walk nine or ten 
miles and home again the same day." 

The old State road spoken of here by Dr. Clarke was the Milesburg 
and Le Bo^uf road that passed through Port Barnett. 

One of the pioneers of Ridgway township was James L. Gillis. In 
June, 1820, he left his home in Ontario County, New York, to look over 
the land, and in December, 1820, he moved his family into the wilder- 
ness. They came in sleds, and it required two days ; they had to camp 
out overnight. Gillis was an agent for Ridgway, and was furnished 
ample means for all expenses. He cleared five hundred acres of land, 
erected a large frame house, and built a grist-mill and a carding-machine. 
Reuben A. Aylesworth and Enos Gillis came with his family. 

James L. Gillis was a man of State celebrity. He was absent nearly 
all the time, lobbying at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or at Washington. 
He was a very interesting man to talk with. 

In 1826, William Morgan, of Batavia, New York, was abducted from 
his home at night and never heard of afterwards. Morgan had been a 
Mason, and published the alleged secrets of the Masonic order. The 
Masons were charged with abducting and murdering him. Mystery sur- 
rounds his disappearance to this day. Intense excitement prevailed all 
over the nation. 

Mr. Gillis was a Mason, and was arrested at Montmorenci and carried 
to New York State, and there tried for the abduction and murder of 
Morgan. In the trial he was cleared. 

Mr. Gillis was a cavalry soldier in the war of 1S12, and took part in 
several severe engagements. He was taken prisoner by the British and 
suffered severely. He was a model man physically, and by nature en- 
dowed with much intelligence. This, added to his extensive travels and 
political experience, gave him a prominence in the State and nation that 
few men possessed. Gillis was the Patriarch in Ridgway township. He 
migrated in 1S21 to what he named Montmorenci, Pine Creek township, 
then in Jefferson County. He brought his children and brother-in-law 
with him. He cleared four hundred acres of land in one chopping, and 
built a grist-mill and a carding-mill in those woods. 

For five years he was monarch of all he surveyed, and without any 
post-office nearer than fifty miles of him. He came to Port Barnett, 
near Brookville, to vote, was liable to and for militia service, and for all 
legal business had to go to Indiana, Pennsylvania, a distance of ninety 
miles. While at Montmorenci in 1S26 he was instrumental in securing 
a mail-route from Kittanning to Olean, New York. This gave him mail 

447 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

service once in two weeks. He was a great horseman and horseback 
rider. 

Gillis was related to Jacob Ridgway, one of the richest men in the 
State, and he was agent for all his lands in Jefferson County. Gillis was 
slow and methodical in his habits; was fond of games, — viz., chess, 
backgammon, checkers, and euchre. He carried a snuff-box that held 
about a pint of the choicest snuff, in which was buried a Tonka bean, 
that imparted to the snuff a delightful aroma. He walked with a gold- 
headed cane, and in winter he wore a panther-skin overcoat. Physically 
he was a large man, and was sociable and agreeable. In 1S30 he moved 
to where Ridgway now is. He was elected to several offices, including 
Congress. He moved to INIount Pleasant, Iowa, where he died in 1881, 
aged eighty-nine years. 

" Sleep, soldier, though many regret thee 

Who pass by thy cold bier to-day ; 
Soon, soon shall the kindest forget thee, 

And thy name from the earth pass away. 
The man thou didst love as a brother 

A friend in thy place will have gained, 
And thy dog shall keep watch for another, 

And thy steed Ijy another be reined." 

The second saw-mill was erected by Enos Gillis in 1S23, at the 
western end of what is now Ridgway, and is standing as it did seventy 
years ago, only it is transformed into part of an axe-factory. 

James Gallagher and family arrived in 1825, over the same trail 
Gillis came. Enos Gillis and James Gallagher were the pioneers in what 
is now called Ridgway borough, by having erected there three or four 
log cabins and a saw-mill in 1824. About 1838, J. S. Hyde, father of 
Hon. W. H. Hyde, reached Ridgway clothed in overalls, and all his 
possessions tied up in a handkerchief. He entered the store of Gillis c\: 
Clover and wanted to buy an axe on credit ; on being refused he told 
the storekeeper to keep his axe ; that he would see the day when he 
could buy the whole store. 

Caleb Dill was the " post-boy" in 1828. 

The pioneer tannery was started in 1830, Enos Gillis, owner; James 
Gallagher, tanner. 

" WANTED IMMEDIATELY. 

" Two apprentices to the Tanning Business. Two boys, about 17 or 18 years of 
age, who can come well recommended, will find a good place. All pains will be taken 
to acquaint them with the business. 

" James Gallagher. 
" Ridgway townsiiii", March 13, 1S34." 
— TJie Jeffersoiiaii. 

448 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer road was the State road from Kittanning to Olean. 
There was great excitement and enthusiasm by the land- owners and 
settlers over this State road. But it all came to naught, for the road has 
never been used to any extent. It is still known as the Olean road 
where it is not grown up and abandoned. 

The Ceres road was laid out in 1S25 and iuiished in 1S28. The 
Milesburg and Smethport Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1825, 
and the road was finished about 1S30. (See Laws.) 

In 1840 the waters of what is now called the Clarion were as clear as 
crystal, pure as life, and gurgled into the river from the mountain 
springs. No tannery or other refuse was to be found in it. In 1749 the 
French named the stream Gall River. It was declared a public highway 
as Toby's Creek by an act of the Legislature, March 21, 1798, up to the 
second great fork. 

In early times this river was known as Stump Creek, and sometimes 
as Toby's Creek, and it is said that it got these two names after two 
Indian hunters, who were in the habit (in the winter) of going up this 
river in canoes, to hunt and trap. They would return each spring with 
their furs and meat to their villages down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. 

It was called Toby's Creek as early as 1758. L'nable myself to find 
any authority for a change to Clarion, I wrote to the Secretary of Inter- 
nal Affairs, and received the following, — viz. : 

"June 8, 1S97. 
''Hon. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of recent date, we beg to say 
that we are unable to find any act of Assembly changing the name of 
Toby's Creek to Clarion River. In an act to authorize the erection of a 
dam, passed in 1822, this stream is designated as 'Toby's Creek, other- 
wise called Clarion River.' 

" Very truly yours, 

"James W. Latta, 

''Secretary:'' 

The early mills in and around Ridgway were the Elk Creek Mill, 
owned by J. S. Hyde, the Mill Creek Mill, owned by Yale & Healey, 
and the Dickinson Mill. This mill was erected by Hughes e^- Dickinson, 
and painted red. The boarding-house was also red. 

In the year 1833 there were seven families in what is now Ridgway, 
— viz., Reuben Aylesworth and Caleb Dill west of the river, and Enos 
Gillis, James W. Gallagher, H. Karns, Thomas Barber, and Joab Dobbins 
on the east side. 

About 1840, common hands on the river received one dollar per day 
and board. Pilots, two and three dollars per day and board. The 
"head" sawyer on the Red Mill received twenty-five dollars per month 

449 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and board ; the assistant, eighteen dollars per month and board ; and 
common hands, fifteen dollars a month and board. 

The usual religious exercises on Sunday at the Red Mill, in 1S42, 
were wrestling, fishing, pitching quoits, shooting at mark, running foot- 
races, and "jumping by the double rule of three." 

The Beech Bottom Mill belonged to the Portland Lumber Company. 
The diet at these old mills was bread, potatoes, beans, flitch, and mo- 
lasses ; brown sugar, old tasted butter, coffee and tea without cream, and 
for dessert dried apple-sauce or pie. Labor was cheap. Pine boards of 
the finest quality sold in Louisville, Kentucky, at seven and nine dollars 
per thousand. If the operator cleared twenty-five or fifty cents on a 
thousand feet he was thankful 

All goods and groceries were dear, they had to be hauled from Olean, 
New York, or Waterson's Ferry on the Allegheny River. Money was 
scarce, the people social and kind. Whiskey and New England rum was 
three cents a drink. 



PIONEER TEAMSTERS — MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT. 

" On Thursday, the 4th of July, a man by the name of John Schram, 
from Ridgway settlement, in Jefferson County, a wagoner, while at 
Freeport waiting the arrival of some store goods from Pittsburg, came to 
a sudden and untimely end by his wagon oversetting upon him, while 
driving rather faster than prudence would justify, along the towpath. 
An inquest was held by Robert Criswell, Esq. Verdict that he came to 
his death by the upsetting of his wagon in the Pennsylvania Canal. The 
unfortunate stranger was interred in decency and respect." — Armstrong 
Democrat, July 4, 1S37. 

Other early teamsters from Ridgway to Freeport, Kittanning, and 
Waterson's Ferry were Conrad Moyer, Coryell Wilcox, Barney McCune, 
and Charles B. Gillis. The pioneer and early teamsters from St. Mary's 
to those points were John Walker, Charles Fisher, and Joseph Wilhelm. 
The merchandise carried from Pittsburg to this region was by canal to 
Freeport, by keel-boat and steamboat to Kittanning and Waterson's 
Ferry. The teamsters loaded their wagons with wheat flour, etc., in 
barrels bound with hickory hoops, bacon and salt and whiskey in barrels 
bound with iron hoops. But, strange to say, there was always a soft stave 
in these whiskey-barrels through which a " rye straw" could be made to 
reach the whiskey for the teamster and his friends while en route home. 

" From 1825 to 1S45 ^^^ P^^^"^ o^ Fourier — that of communities with 
a union of labor and capital and working under fixed rules — was actively 
put into operation in this section of Pennsylvania. On the main road 
from Ridgway to Smethport are the remains of the town of Teutonia, 
once a large community ; but jealousies grew up, and the members dis- 

450 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

persed among the people at large, and became industrious and useful 
citizens. 

"The sudden advent and exit of this community had its prototype 
within half a mile of Teutonia. The mouldering wood and growth of 
trees of half a century mark the spot where was laid out the town of 
Instanter. Its plot is duly recorded in McKean County. Mr. Cooper, 
a large landholder, was the instigator, if not the forerunner of the settle- 
ment. As the streets were marked out, the buildings went up like magic ; 
but Madam Rumor spread a report that the land-title was unsound, and 
on investigation such was found to be the fact. Work suddenly ceased 
and the settlers left." 

Part of the Cooper lands were situated in what was then Jefferson 
County, and the flaming hand-bill which was gotten up to advertise these 
lands gave the following explicit directions for getting to them : 

" Title. — Three hundred thousand acres of land for sale and settle- 
ment. In the counties of McKean and Jefferson, in the State of Penn- 
sylvania, joining the New York line and the Genesee lands, extending 
for forty miles, and situate about two hundred and fifty miles northwest 
from Philadelphia, etc. 

" Settlers and others wishing to go into the aforesaid lands from the 
northern part of Jersey, New York, and New P^ngland States, take the 
Newburg and Cohecton Turnpike, or such roads as will be most direct to 
the Painted Post ; then cross the York and Pennsylvania line, taking the 
Tioga road to Dr. VVillar's or Widow Barry's ; thence to and on the east 
and west road, passing Wellsborough and Coudersport to Smethport ; 
thence ten miles to Instanter (proposed county town of McKean). For 
settlers and others south of Easton, fall into the Lehigh and Berwick or 
Sunbury pike, from thence to Williamsport, passing by Jersey Shore to 
the aforesaid east and west road. For such as go on foot or horseback, 
they can take the Ellicott road from Jersey Shore, passing through Duns- 
town, and up the Susquehanna and Sinnemahoning to Cox's settlement 
and Instanter. 

"Benjamin B. Cooper. 

"Cooper's Point, April 25, 1812." 
— History of Pennsylvania. 

In 1835 a man by the name of Frank Goodar lived in Ridgway town- 
ship, on the Beechwoods road, near what is now Brockwayville, Snyder 
township. He was married, but concluded that he ought to have two 
wives, so with the consent of wife No. i he married Mollie No. 2, Squire 
McCullough, of Pine Creek township, performing the ceremony in the 
summer of that year. For this offence against morals Isaac Temple 
prosecuted Goodar before Thomas Lucas, Esq. , for bigamy ; but at the 

451 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

hearing of September 12, 1835, he failed to prove a marriage with wife 
No. I, and of course Goodar was discharged. All three lived together 
for seven years in a log cabin, on what was afterwards the Frost farm, 
and now the William Kearney place, where Frank and INIollie deserted 
Beckie, wife No. i. 

Ralph Hill settled at Portland Mills about 1832. He came from 
Massachusetts. He lived the life of a hermit. Portland becoming too 
much in civilization, he moved up Spring Creek, and lived in Forest 
County, the companion of wild animals, ' ' where his right there was none 
to dispute." He died at a ripe old age. 

The pioneer railroad was the Sunbury and Erie. " The Sunbury and 
Erie, now the Philadelphia and Erie, a portion of that magnificent sys- 
tem, the Pennsylvania Railroad, was chartered April 3, 1837, but it was 
not until 1S52 that construction was commenced, and the road was not 
completed until 1864." 

In the speculative times of 1836 non-residents of then Jefferson 
County bought largely of the wild lands in and around Ridgway town- 
ship, which, of course, when railroad and other bubbles burst, was left 
on their hands. This land had been advertised to contain valuable iron 
ore and bituminous coal, and much of it could have been bought as late 
as 1 841 at fifty and twenty-five cents an acre. 

To build a railroad through a dense wilderness of worthless hemlock, 
ferocious beasts, gnats, and wintergreen berries required a large purse 
and great courage. Of course, there was no subject talked about in the 
cabin homes of that locality so dear to the hearts of the pioneers as this 
railroad. 

There was not a cabin on the line of this proposed road from Shippen 
to Ridgway, and but one at Johnsonburg from Ridgway to the waters 
of Tionesta. 

The pioneer justice of the peace was Reuben A. Aylesworth, appointed 
February 18, 1S32. 

In 1839, James Watterson, of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, 
settled at the mouth of Spring Creek, and he and Job Paine built a saw- 
mill. In 1833, Ralph Hill and a man named Ransom were living in a 
shanty at Beech Bottom. 

"The pioneer school was held in Gallagher's log cabin (near the 
present Ridgway Central Graded School), in 1826, under the control of 
Hannah Gilbert, and attended by the children of the three families re- 
siding there. Subsequently Ann 1 Jerry and Betsey Hyatt taught in an old 
red school-house, which was situated at the present site of Dillon's meat 
market. In 1834 a house for common school purposes was erected 
above the old Dickinson homestead, on the west side of the race and 
north side of Main Street, by Messrs. Crow, Gallagher, Thayer, Dickin- 
son, Cobb, and Cady, and Betsey (Elizabeth M.) Hyatt installed teacher. 

452 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

She was succeeded by Mr, Barnutz in 1S35. A second building was 
erected in 1838, near where the B. R. & P. depot now stands. 

In the winter of 1832, L. Wilmarth, Arthur Hughes, and George 
Dickinson erected the red saw-mill. Ridgway was laid out for a town 
in 1833. 

" In 1834 the first bridge was put across the Clarion River. This was 
a toll-bridge. It was built of twelve by sixteen inch stringers resting on 
cribbing. Before this time teams forded the river, and in high water boats 
were used. The country was covered by a thick growth of hemlock-trees. 
Game, such as elks, deer, bears, panthers, and wild-cats were found in 
great abundance, fish abounded in the streams," and rattlesnakes and 
other reptiles were numerous and dangerous. 

Up to 1835, Ridgway township included all that portion of Snyder 
township that is now Brockwayville borough, and even west of Suf^ar 
Hill, as well as a good portion of what is now Washington township. 
Ridgway in 1S36 was a small village. At the west end of the town was 
George Dickinson's boarding-house, then Henry Gross's home, then 
Dickinson's saw-mill and barn, Caleb Dill's home, justice ofiice, and 
blacksmith-shop, Stephen Weis's home and John Cobb's house, Hon. 
James L. Gillis's home and store, George Dickinson's home and store, 
and on the east side of the Clarion was the Exchange Hotel, owned by 
David Thayer, then Edward Derby's old red house, then the Lone Star 
Hotel, owned by P. T. Brooks. 

When P. T. Brooks, who was quite a wag, very polite and demon- 
strative, was keeping this hotel in the wilderness, two finely dressed and 
appearing gentlemen rode up one day in front of and stopped at his hotel 
for dinner. Of course, this was an opportunity for Mr. Brooks to be 
demonstrative and polite. After seeing that the horses were properly 
cared for. Brooks approached the gentlemen in this way : "What kind 
of nieat would you gentleman prefer for dinner?" "Why, Mr. Land- 
lord, we would prefer venison." "I am sorry that we are just out of 
venison." "Oh, well," said the strangers, "a little good beef or mut- 
ton will do." "Well, well," replied Mr. Brooks, "I am sorry to say 
we are just out of beef and mutton." At this the strangers were a little 
nonplussed, but finally said, " We will be satisfied with fish." "Well, 
well," replied Mr. Brooks, rubbing his hands, "I am sorry to say that we 
are just out of fish, but we have some very excellent pickled pork." 

Uncle Eben Stevens, an old hunter who came to the Sinnemahoning 
region about 181 2, told me there was an Indian graveyard at the mouth 
of Mill Creek, that he used to go up there and hunt with the Indians, and 
in the spring they would paint their canoes red with that "iron paint" 
on the Clarion. 

And down the Toby Creek — 

453 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Where the rocks were gray and the shores were steep, 
Where the waters below looked dark and deep, 
Where the shades of the forest were heavy and deep the whole day through," 

Stevens and the Indians in these red canoes would carry their game, 
skins, and furs to the Pittsburg market. 

The pioneer effort to erect what is now the county of Elk was on 
Tuesday, February 28, 1S37, when an act to erect the county of Ridg- 
way was reported in the State Senate. 

The present town or borough of St. Mary's was established in 1842. 
Father Alexander had the colony in charge then. Early in the summer 
of 1842 a number of Germans in the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia 
associated themselves in a society to form a German settlement on the 
community plan, and appointed John Albert, Nicholas Reimel, and 
Michael Deileth to select the place for settlement. This committee 
selected Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, and the site where the borough 
of St. Mary's and the adjoining settlement now is. For this colony 
they purchased thirty-five thousand acres of land from Mr. Kingsbury. 
In October of this year the first instalment of settlers — one from Phila- 
delphia and one from Baltimore — reached John Green's, in Kersey. 
From Kersey these men, in two instalments, opened a path to where St. 
Mary's now is, and immediately set to work to erect their log cabins on 
St. Mary's Street. In December, 1842, they moved their families to 
these cabins, and the county of Elk was organized in 1843. 

The pioneer election for township officers was held in Ridgway 
township, at the house of James Gallagher, on the i6th of March, 1837. 
The following persons contested, — viz. : Constable, Nehemiah Bryant, 8 
votes ; Alanson Viall, 7 votes. Supervisors, James Gallagher and Alonzo 
Brockway, no opposition. Poor Overseers, Naphtala G. Barrun and 
William Maxwell, no opposition. Fence Appraisers, Nehemiah Bryant 
and William Taylor, no opposition. Town Clerk, James Gallagher. 
Officers of Election : Inspector, John Stratton ; Judges, Nehemiah 
liryant, James Brockway, and Alonzo Brockway; Clerk, James Gal- 
lagher. 

ROSE TOWNSHIP. 

Rose, the fifth township, was organized in 1S27, and was also taken 
from Pine Creek township. It was named for Dr. Rose, then a prom- 
inent landholder in its territory. He founded the village of Roseville, 
and labored hard to make it the county seat, but failed in this aspiration. 
Roseville was celebrated for the early horse-racing. The other village in 
the township is Bellview (post-office, Stanton), about five miles south of 
Brookville. The taxables in 1828, 123; in 1835, 252 (this included the 
taxables in the borough of Brookville). The town and township held 
their elections together for a number of years, and the taxables were as- 

454 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

sessed together up to 1845. The population of Rose township, including 
Brookville, in 1840, was 1421. The pioneer settlers in Rose township 
were John Matson and Mary, his wife. He built his cabin on the land 
now owned by his son, Robert L., in 1805. The next settler was Joseph 
Clements, the next Andrew Vastbinder. John Lucas came from Crooked 
Creek, Indiana County, in 1S16, and settled at Puckety. John Kennedy 
came in the spring of 1822. Walter Templeton, grandfather of Thomas 
L. Templeton, the efficient cashier of the Brookville National Bank, was 
living in the township then. He was the mechanic of that time. He 
could do any and all kinds of repairing. In 1826, Samuel D. Kennedy 
settled on the pike near Corsica. There was a log house then in what is 
now Corsica, and a man by the name of Powers kept a tavern in it. 
Luther Geer settled in the township in 1833. Peter Thrush in 1837. 



3. "^ "^ ■ 



^ 



h. 




Square timber. 



Peter Himes in 1838. The Enoch and Joseph E. Hall family came in 
1833. Joel Spyker came in 1835. The Witherows came in 1833. 
William Thompson came in 1834. 

James Corbett built the pioneer saw-mill on Red Bank, near Coders. 
The pioneer church building was the Bethel log, in 1824 (Presbyterian). 

The pioneer brick-yard was started by Colonel William Jack and 
General Wise. It was situated on the head of what is now Heidrick, 
Matson & Co.'s mill-pond, on the east side of the North Fork, and was 
operated about 1S30. 

455 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer improvement in what is now Rose township was made 
by John Matson. He built the first pioneer grist-mill in the township, 
on the North Fork, above Verstine &: Kline's saw-mill, in 1830. In 
1829 he built the saw-mill now known as Verstine & Kline's mill. 

The pioneer election polling-place was at the house of John Lucas. 
In 1836 it was changed as follows: By an act of the Legislature passed 
the 1 6th day of June, 1836, it was enacted '' that all that part of Rose 
township, in the county of Jefferson, lying west of a line commencing at 
the home of Robert Morrison, on the line of Perry township ; thence 
north along an old line to the Eldred township line, be, and the same is 
hereby, erected into a separate election district, and shall liereafter hold 
their general elections at the house now occupied by Darius Carrier 
within said bounds." 

Among the pioneer industries was tar-burning. Kilns were formed 
and split fagots of pitch-pine knots were arranged in circles and burned. 
The tar was collected by a ditch and forced into a chute, and from there 
barrelled. John Matson, Sr., marketed on rafts as high as forty barrels 
in one season. Freedom Stiles was the king ' ' tar-burner. ' ' Pioneer prices 
at Pittsburg for tar was ten dollars a barrel. 

The pioneer licensed tavern was kept by John Matson on the old State 
Road in 181 2. 

The early tavern-keepers, or those to whom license to sell whiskey 
was granted, were William ^'astbinder, William Christy, John Shoemaker, 
David Orcutt, Anthony Rowe, James Green, Isaac Mills, and Joshua 
McKinley. The two latter kept at Roseville. Joseph Henderson at 
Dowlingville in 1841. 

The early brick-kilns were started in 1832, one by Robert P. Barr 
and the other by Joseph Kaylor. 

The pioneer birth in the township was Jane, daughter of John and 
Mary Matson. 

At the pioneer local election for 1828 the number of votes cast was 
65, and at the general election in the fall, 66. 

At an election held at the home of John Lucas, March 20, 1S29, the 
following persons contested, — viz. : Supervisors, Moses Knapp, 39 votes ; 
James Shields, 30 votes. Poor Overseers, John Lucas, 10 votes; John 
.Vvery, 10 votes. Auditor, John Hughes, 50 votes ; Alonzo Baldwin, 42 
votes; R. K. Scott, 36 votes; AVilliam Morrison, 32 votes. Constable, 
William Love, Jr., 51 votes. Fence-Viewers, John Kelso, 16 votes; 
Elijah M. Graham, 14 votes. Town Clerk, John Christy, 3 votes; James 
Corbett, 3 votes. Attest : Alonzo Baldwin, John Lucas, judges. 

Election district according to the act of April 16, 1838 : 

"Section 52. That the citizens of Rose township, Jefferson County, 
within the following boundaries, — viz. : Beginning at the mouth of a run 
putting into the north side of Red Bank Creek, a short distance west of 

456 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the mill of Dr. Bowling ; thence up said creek till it strikes the Rose dis- 
trict line ; thence west to county line between Armstrong and Jefferson 
Counties, and from a place or point the nearest opposite the mouth of the 
aforesaid run, by a line running due south till the same shall strike the 
northern line of Perry township, shall hold their elections in the borough 
of Brookville, at the place now appointed by law for holding the borough 
election." 

A POLITICAL CANDIDATE. 

" Prior to March, 1S32, our neighboring county of Jefferson was with- 
out any newspaper, and the announcements of candidates for county 
offices were then made through the weekly papers of this county, and it 
might be incidentally added that then, as ever since over that way, there 
was no scarcity of candidates. 

"The announcements were generally inserted prominently in large 
type, occupying from three to five times as much space as would be 
allowed in these days. 

" One of these announcements, which was shown us a few days ago by 
one of our subscribers, appeared regularly in the Indiana Free Press for 
three months prior to the October election in 1S31. It is a curiosity. 
Here it is in its original form and style : 

"'to the free and independent electors of JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

" ' Solicited it's I have been, 

To stand a poll by many, 
For office of Commissioner 

Before, have not agreed to any ; 
My name at length I will let go, 

Through medium of the press. 
By word of mouth and by hand-bills, 

Which way they think it best ; 
It's free and independent times, 

October you will see, 
The second Tuesday, if I'm right, 

The polls will ended be ; 
And now Pll say what I have said 

Before, on such occasions. 
That if elected to an office, 

I'll do my best endeavors 
To fill the office I'm put in 

With punctuality. 
And with the utmost of my skill, 

Though best it may not be ; 
If I'm elected to that trust, 

My best wishes shall be fervent, 
Whilst here I stand a candidate, 

Your most obedient servant. 
30 457 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

luHN Christie is my name in full, 
America is my nation, 
' Rose township is my dwelling place, 

A Farmer is my station. 
'"July 31, 1831.'" 
— Indiana Messenger. 

I copy the following advertisement from the Brookville Deinoeratic 
Republican of the year 1837 : 

" CAMP-MEETING. 

"There will be a camp-meeting held by the Methodist Episcopal 
Church below Troy, to commence on Friday, the ist day of September, 

1837- 

"Darius Carrier." 

horse-racing. 

Horse-racing was practised as early as when Troy was besieged by 
the Greeks. In the plain before the city the besiegers celebrated holi- 
days by sports and horse-races, and Homer says the walls of Troy were 
covered with sporting Trojans watching the result. 

The trotting horse is an institution of the present century. Before 
iSoo running was the only method of racing. 

Horse-racing as practised in the pioneer days of our county was a 
great sport. People came here from all the northwest. 

THE ROSEVILLE PIONEER RACE GROUND. 

'^'^ Jefferson County Races. — On Tuesday, the 14th of November, 
instant, will be run over the race-course on the Lewistown and Erie 
Turnpike, near the public house of Mrs. Mills, four miles west of p]rook- 
ville, a match race of 600 yards between the celebrated racers Robin and 
Zib. The public and all others friendly are hereby invited to attend. 
Ry order of 

"The Proprietors. 

"November 2, 1837." 

" Robin" was a Brookville horse, and won this race. He was a sorrel, 
and belonged to John Pierce and Major William Rodgers. These men 
purchased him from Ephraim Bushly for five hundred dollars, and they 
sold him to Benjamin Bennett, Sr., of Bellefonte, where he was taken and 
matched for a race. He had never been beaten in a race, but before this 
match took place in Centre County he was poisoned and ruined. 

" Zib" was a dark bay horse, and was owned by a Mr. Chambers, of 
Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The "stake" in the above race was 
three hundred dollars. Great crowds attended these races. People 
came from Indiana, Armstrong, Crawford, Clearfield, and Centre. The 

45S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

stake was usually three hundred dollars, and the excitement and side- 
betting was lively. 

The act of the Legislature No. no, regulating election districts, ap- 
proved July II, 1S42, established the polling-place for Rose township as 
follows : 

"Section ii. That the qualified voters of Rose township, Jefferson 
County, shall hereafter hold their general election at the court-house of 
Brookville, in said county." 

The pioneer to clear land in what might be called South Rose was 
Joseph Millen. Robert INIorrison was the second. 

The pioneer school-house was on the farm of AVilliam Carr. The 
one at Bellview was built in 1842. 

The pioneer church was on the land of William Ohl in 1837. 

The Brookville Republican, under date of June 13, 1837, contains the 
following : 

" DISTRESSING ACCIDENT. 

" On Saturday, the 24th day of May last, a few men were collected 
in building a church in this vicinity. While in the act of pushing up a 
log it accidentally slipped off the skates and fell upon Mr. Robert Mor- 
rison and crushed him, so that he survived but a few hours. ' ' 

This church was on the farm now owned by Simon Reitz, of Beaver 
township. 

" Between the years of 1830 and 1840 a number of German families 
came into the lower part of the county and settled near Red Bank 
Creek. 

"The impulse given to the lumber trade by the speculations in the 
State of Maine was not without its influence in the remote sections of the 
Union. The keen sagacity of the Yankee discovered that there were 
vast bodies of pine lands lying around the sources of the Allegheny River, 
not appreciated at their full value by the few pioneers who lived among 
them. The Yankees had learned to estimate the value of pine land by 
the tree and by the log ; the Pennsylvanians still estimated it by the acre. 
Somewhere between 1830 and 1837 individuals and companies from New 
England and New York purchased considerable bodies of land on the 
head-waters of Red 15ank and Clarion Rivers from the Holland Land 
Company and other large land-holders. They proceeded to erect saw- 
mills and to drive the lumber trade after the most approved method. 
The little leaven thus introduced caused quite a fermentation among the 
lumbermen and land-holders of the county. More land changed owners, 
new water privileges were improved, capital was introduced from abroad, 
and during the spring floods every creek and river resounded with the 
preparation of rafts and the lively shouts of the lumbermen as they shot 

459 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

their rafts over the swift chutes of the mill-dams. The population of the 
county was trebled in ten years." 




Matson dam. 



In 1840-43 large bodies of original tracts were still held by rich pro- 
prietors at a distance. The price of land then was fifty cents, one dollar, 
and three dollars per acre. 



BARNETT TOWNSHIP. 

This township was so called for Joseph Barnett, the patriarch ; it was 
the sixth organization, and was separated from Rose township in 1833. 
That part lying north of the Clarion River was taken away from it by 
the organization of Forest County. The taxables in 1S35 were 70; 
1842, 67. The census gave it for population, in 1840, 259. 

In 1827, William, George, and Samuel Armstrong came to that sec- 
tion. In 1829, David and Joseph Reynolds, John Cook, John H. Maize, 
and Alex. Murray located. David Reynolds cleared the first land and 
ran the first lumber in 1829. Other early settlers were Alex. Forsythe, 
Robert Wallace, Richard Burns, and Orrin Butterfield. The pioneer 
birth was Evaline Armstrong, daughter of William. 

The pioneer marriage was Thomas Maize, who married Martha Hall 
in 1836. The pioneer death was James Maize, who died in 1S31. The 
first grave was at Troutman's Run. The pioneer school-house was built 

460 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

at the mouth of this run. The pioneer grist-mill was built on the Toby, 
now Clarion River, bv William Armstrong, who also opened a store, 
in 1830. The pioneer hotel-keeper was Alex. Murray. The pioneer 
blacksmith was Andrew Clough. The pioneer saw-mill was built by 
Wm. Reynolds, at Maple Creek, in 1S29. 

The pioneer election for township officers was in 1833, ^-nd the follow- 
ing officers were elected : Constable, John Maize ; Supervisors, David 
Mead, William Armstrong ; Auditors, John Wynkoop, Edwin Forsythe, 
Wm. Manross ; Poor Overseer, Enos Myers, John Maize. 

From an act regulating election districts in the State : 

"Section 29. And be it furfJier enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That the electors of Barnett township, in the county of Jefferson, shall 
hereafter hold their general elections at the house now occupied by John 
Wynkoop, in said township. 

"Approved — the third day of May, a.d. one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-two. 

" Section 64. The electors of the township of Barnett, in the county 
of Jefferson, shall hereafter hold their elections at the house of Alexander 
Murray, in said township. 

"Approved — the fifteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
and thirty-five." 

In 1833, Job Carr had a saw-mill about a mile above Millstone, on 
the river. 

In Big Toby Creek (now Clarion River) and in the Little Toby 
Creek pike were occasionally shot and gigged weighing from thirty to 
fifty pounds. The Mahoning, Sandy Lick, North Fork, and Red Bank 
also were full of choice pike, catfish, bass, sunfish, suckers, and chubs. 
It was a common thing to shoot pike ; the others were caught by hook 
and line, in seines, and gigged after night. The lesser streams, like the 
mill creeks, in addition to many of the others just mentioned, were alive 
with speckled trout, and every run in the county then contained these 
speckled beauties. 

"In 1835, James Aharrah migrated with his family from Indiana, 
Pennsylvania, to Wynkoop Run, and erected a cabin eighteen by 
twenty feet with a few small windows in it. One night when James 
was absent a panther paid them a visit. Sitting up on his haunches, 
he peered into the small cabin. In desperation Mrs. Aharrah seized 
an axe which was standing near by and took her place at the side of 
the window, ready to receive the visitor should he decide to enter, 
while her son, armed with the old-time poking-stick, came to her 
assistance and took post at the opposite side of the window. Henry 
and his sister Jane (Jack Knopsnyder's mother), who were both 
quite young, took refuge under the bed and waited for the panther's 
departure. 

461 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Mr. Panther soon tired of this, and bade them an affectionate fare- 
well, which shook the earth with its vibrations." 

The provisions were brought by canoes up the Clarion River from the 
place where Parker now stands. Two canoes were engaged in delivering 
groceries, etc. Ephraim and John Shawl were the two men who had 
control of one, and David Ridder and a man by the name of Sampson 
manned the other. 

CRIME. 

From 1778 to 1855, inclusive, three hundred and twenty-eight per- 
sons were hanged in Pennsylvania, Of these, five suffered the penalty of 
death for high treason, eight for robbery, fourteen for burglary, three for 
assault, one for arson, four for counterfeiting, and seven for unknown 
offences. On April 22, 1794, the death penalty was abolished except for 
murder in the first degree. Before 1834 hangings took place in public, 
and since then in jail yards or corridors. 

The pioneer murder in Jefferson County was committed on May i, 
1844. Daniel Long, one of the mighty hunters of Pine Creek township, 
and Samuel Knopsnyder, were murdered in Barnett township, now 
Heath, near Raught's Mills. There was a dispute between Long and 
James Green about a piece of land. The land was a vacant strip. James 
Green and his son Edwin took possession of Long's shanty on this land 
while Long was absent. On Long's return to the shanty in company 
with Knopsnyder, Long was shot by young Green as he attempted to 
enter the shanty, with Long's own gun. Knopsnyder was so terribly cut 
with an axe in the hands of the Greens that he died in a few days. The 
Greens, father and son, were arrested, tried, and convicted of murder in 
the second degree, and each sentenced to four years in the penitentiary. 

James Green, the father, served a year and was pardoned. Edwin 
served his time and returned to Jefferson County a few days only, as he 
was in terror of the Longs. He therefore returned to Pittsburg, and 
settled down somewhere and lived and died highly respected. 

"In 1784, the year in which Pittsburg was surveyed into building 
lots, the privilege of mining coal in the ' great seam' opposite that town 
was sold by the Penns at the rate of thirty pounds for each mining lot, 
extending back to the centre of the hill. This event may be regarded 
as forming the beginning of the coal trade of Pittsburg. The supply of 
the towns and cities on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with Pittsburg 
coal became an established business at an early day in the present century 
or in 1800. Pittsburg coal was known long before the town became 
noted as an iron centre. 

"Down to 1845 ^11 the coal shipped westward from Pittsburg was 
floated down the Ohio in flat-bottomed boats in the spring and fall 
freshets, each boat holding about fifteen thousand bushels of coal. The 

462 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

boats were usually lashed in pairs, and were sold and broken up when 
their destination was reached. In 1845 steam tow-boats were introduced, 
which took coal-barges down the river and brought them back empty." 



PIONEER FLAT-BOATS — PIONEER TIPPLES, ETC. 

The pioneer boats in what is now Jefferson County were built at 
Port Barnett for the transportation of Centre County pig-metal. In 1S30 




Making a boat, Clarion River. 

they were built on the North Fork for the same purpose. In after-years, 
when tipples were used, boats were built and tipples erected at the fol- 
lowing points, — viz. : at Findley's, on Sandy Lick, by Nieman and D. S. 
Chitister ; at Brookville, by John Smith ; at Troy, by Peter Lobaugh ; 
at Heathville, by A. B. Paine and Arthur O'Donnell ; at the mouth of 
Little Sandy, by ^Villiam Bennett ; at Robinson's Bend, by Hance Rob- 
inson. This industry along Red Bank was maintained by the charcoal 
furnaces of Clarion and Armstrong Counties. The boats were sold at 
the Olean bridge at Broken Rock, and sold again at Pittsburg for coal- 
barges. Some of the boats were sold for the transportation of salt to 
the South from Freeport. The industry on Red Bank ceased in the 
fifties. 

Anthony and Jacob Esbaugh built scaffolds and boats for the dealers 
on Red Bank. The pioneer boat was si.xteen feet wide and forty feet 

463 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

long. These boats were always built from the best lumber that could be 
made from the choicest timber that grew in our forests. Each gunwale 
was hewed out of the straightest pine-tree that was to be found, — viz. : 
twenty-eight inches high at the "rake," fourteen inches at the stern, ten 
inches thick, and forty feet long, two gunwales to a boat. The ties were 
hewed six inches thick, with a six-inch face, mortised, dove-tailed, and 
keyed into the gunwale six feet apart. The six " streamers" for a boat 
were sawed three by twelve inches, sixteen feet long, and "pinned" to 
the ties with one pin in the middle of each streamer. These pins were 
made of white oak one and a half inches square and ten inches long. 
The plank for the "bottoms" were first-class white pine one and a half 
inches thick, and pinned to the streamers and gunwales with white oak 
pins, calked with flax or tow. All pioneer boats were built on the 
ground and turned by about ten men — and a gallon of whiskey — over 




Rafting-in on the Clarion, at Armstrong's. 



and on a bed made of brush to keep the planks in the bottom from 
springing. All boats were "sided up" with white oak studding two and 
a half by five inches and six feet (high) long. Each studding was mor- 
tised into a gunwale two feet apart. Inside the boat a siding eighteen 
inches high was pinned on. These boats were sold in Pittsburg, to be 
used as coal-barges for the transportation of coal to the Lower Missis- 
sippi. The boats were manned and run by two or three men, the pilot 
always at the stern. The oar, stem and blade, was made the same as for 
ordinary rafts. The pioneer boats were tied and landed with halyards 
made of twisted hickory saplings. The size of these boats in 1843 was 
eighteen feet wide and eighty feet long, built on tipples similar to the 

464 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

present method. The boats are now made from one hundred and twenty 
to one hundred and fifty feet long and from twenty to twenty-four feet 
wide, and from spliced gunwales. 

Sixty years ago boats were built on the Big Toby at Maple Creek, 
Clarington, Millstone, Wynkoop, Spring Creek, Irvine, and Ridgway. 
The pioneer boat was probably built at Maple Creek by William Reynolds. 




Turning a boat. 

The pioneer boats were gems of the art as compared with those made to- 
day. Now the gunwales are spliced up of pieces to make the required 
length, and the boats are made of hemlock. The industry, however, is 
carried on more extensively on the Clarion now than ever and for the 
same market. 

From this time forth, as has been the case for several years of the 
past, the boat bottom will be of hemlock, patched of many pieces, sjnked 
together instead of built with long oak pins, and they will have to be 
handled with care to serve the purpose. Of such a kind of boat bottoms 
there is small danger of scarcity. 



SNYDER TOWNSHIP. 
THE BEGINNING OF ITS EXISTENCE AS AN ORGANIZED COMMUNITY DR. A. 

M. Clarke's reminiscences — joel clarke's settlement with his 

SONS— PIONEER LUMBERING (^N LITTLE TOBV — PIONEER POST-ROUTE, 

1828 POST-OFFICE AND POSTMASTER PIONEER ELECTION — PIONEER 

HUNTER, ETC. 

Snyder, the seventh township, was organized out of Pine Creek and 
Ridgway townships in 1835. ^^ ^^ situated and lies on the western and 

465 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

southwestern water-shed of the Elk Mountains, which consist of spurs of 
the Allegheny range. One of the most prominent of these high grounds 
is called Boone's Mountain, or frequently, in the common usage of the 
neighborhood, " The Mountain." The rock formation of this eminence 
is sandstone and conglomerates, giving rise to many springs of pure 
cold water. These are the sources of Little Toby and Sandy Lick 
Creeks. 

The township was called for Governor Simon Snyder. The taxables 
in 1835 were 41 ; in 1842, 72. The population by census of 1S40 was 
291. In 1843 P^^*^ °f ^^'^ township was detached and added to Elk 




County. Owing to so many changes in the lines I am unable to tell the 
pioneer settlers. 

Ami Sibley was one of the early hunters and trappers in this sec- 
tion, having arrived in 1818. The tales of his adventures in hunting 
would make an interesting volume. He died in 1861. His wife was 
Rachel Whitehill, to whom he was married in 1827, when they located 
in what is now Snyder. 

466 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1S19, Joel Clarke, with his wife and sons, Elisha and Joel, Jr., 
came to and settled on Little Toby from Russell, St. Lawrence County, 
New York. Later, the same year, Philetus, the third son of Joel Clarke, 
came also from Russell, New York, and settled on Little Toby. The late 
Dr. Clarke describes their coming as follows, — viz. : 

" I was about eleven years old when my father, Philetus Clarke, came 
from St. Lawrence County, New York, into the Little Toby wilderness. 
The journey was long and tedious. We moved with oxen in wagons, 
which were covered with canvas, and which gave us shelter from sun- 
shine and storm. I was the oldest child, and there were three of 
us. Sometimes I had to drive, while my father would support the 
wagon to keep it from upsetting. The Susquehanna and Waterford 
turnpike was being made, and we came along an old road near it 
to ' Neeper's Tavern,' about four miles from where Luthersburg now is. 
This was the old State Road from Bald Eagle's Nest, Mifflin County, 
to Le Bceuf, Allegheny County, at this time the Milesburg and Water- 
ford road. I remember the motto that was over the sign-board at 

Neeper's : 

" ' It is God's will 

This woods must yield. 
And the wild wood turn 
To a fruitful field.' 

"From that place the road was very rough over the hills and moiui- 
tains. We could not get through in one day, and had to stop one night 
at a place where the road-makers had built a shanty, but it had burned 
down and the place was called 'Burnt Shanty.' Our wagon gave us 
shelter, and a good spring was pleasant indeed. The next day we passed 
over Boone's Mountain, came to the crossing of Little Toby, near where 
the Oyster House was built many years afterwards. We pursued our jour- 
ney onward to Kersey settlement. My father thought best to examine 
the lands for which he had exchanged his New York property before 
going any farther, and was utterly disappointed and disgusted with them. 
He made explorations in various directions in search of a mill site, and 
finally concluded to settle at what is now Brockport, where he built a 
saw-mill, the first ever built on Little Toby. He put a small grist-mill 
Avith ' bolts' in the saw-mill, which answered the requirements of the few 
settlers for a while, and afterwards built a good grist-mill, which did good 
service for the people." His first home was a cabin, twelve by fourteen, 
of round logs. 

Old settlers, frequently carrying a peck or a half-bushel of corn on 
their backs, came to this mill and waited for their grist to be ground. 
Ofttimes a bushel or two of grain, too heavy to carry, was suspended 
across the yoke of an ox team. 

In 1823, Jacob Shafer located about a mile and a half above Brock- 

467 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

wayville, on the Henry Sivert tract. He was a fine old German gentle- 
man of the olden time. He was always a good Democrat, and voted 
for Jackson for many years. He died in 185 1. Henry Walborn, brother- 
in law of Mr. Shafer, came at the same time, and located near Mr. Shafer 
on the stream which took his name, — Walborn Run. He sold his place 
to Joel Clarke, Jr., and went off, and his name, but for the run, would 
have been forgotten. 

In 1S28 the lumbermen of Little Toby commenced to open up the 
creek for a public highway. This was attended with much labor, and re- 
quired two years' time. In 1830 the lumber from these mills was started 
to market, — viz., Brockway's, Philetus Clarke's, and Horton's, these 
being the only mills at that time on the creek. Dr. A. M. Clarke says, 
" I went with the first lumber that was sent from Little Toby to Pitts- 
burg. It was a great company raft, awkwardly put in and poorly man- 
aged from beginning to end. After a great deal of trouble and much 
staving, the rafts were all collected and coupled together in one unwieldy 
raft at Miller's Kiddy, on the Allegheny River. On account of the ex- 
ceeding rough appearance of this raft it was called the 'Porcupine.' 
Want of experience and lack of skill nearly wrecked the whole business, 
for in their anxiety to get to market, and encouraged by their pilot, the 
unwieldy craft — I think it was three abreast and thirty-two platforms 
long — was started on very high water. They soon discovered their mis- 
take, but were unable to land, and went rushing forward, and miles of 
foaming water were traversed before the frightened crew effected a land- 
ing. I was sent to take care of my father's share in the adventure. We 
went down in May, 1830, and came back in July. Our best sales were 
made for five and ten dollars per thousand feet for common and clear 
stuff. ' ' 

In 1828 a post-route was established, and the mail ordered to be car- 
ried once a week on horseback from Kittanning to Smethport, McKean 
County. The route lay through this section of country, and in A])ril of 
that year Hellen Post-Office was established, and Philetus Clarke was ap- 
pointed postmaster ; this was the first post-office in this neighborhood. 
Letter postages were six and a quarter, twelve and a half, eighteen and 
three quarters, and twenty-five cents, according to the distance over 
which they were conveyed. In 1829 a post-office was established at 
TJrockwayville, and Alonzo l>rockway appointed postmaster ; this gave 
name to the place, which it has retained. 

The first burial was an infant child of Alonzo and Huldah Brockway. 
The scathed stump of a pine-tree, which grew over the grave, until re- 
cently it was struck by lightning, marks the place, though the appearance 
of a grave has been entirely obliterated, and the unconscious passer-by, 
as he walks over the spot, has no thought that a human form lies mould- 
ering under his heel. The second burial was also a child, one of the 

46S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

family of Mr. Jacob Shafer. They buried it in a corner of a field, on a 
somewhat elevated spot, between two ravines, by the roadside, near where 
Marvin Allen now resides. Others were afterwards buried there, until 
it came to be called " Shafer' s Burying- Ground." In that "little city 
of the dead" rest the remains of Joel Clarke and Chloe, his wife, tJaily 
Hughes, A. J. Ingalls, Joel Clarke and Mary, his wife, Philetus Clarke 
and Ada, his daughter, Annie Sibley, Mrs. Monahan, Mrs. Stephens, 
Samuel Benian and wife, Jacob Shafer and Mary, his wife, Hiram, 
Willis, and Jane, children of Joel and Mary Clarke, Jacob Myers, 
Comfort D. Felt, and others. It has lately been much neglected, and 
is rapidly going to decay. Some of the dead have been removed to 
AVildwood Cemetery. 

"In 1 82 1, John S. Brockway purchased at treasurer's sale, at Indiana, 
the ' Henry Peffer' tract on Little Toby, and the next year Alonzo and 
James M. Brockway moved over from Bennett's Branch and commenced 
improvements on the land. They had to cut their way five miles down 
the creek from Philetus Clarke's. They planted fruit-trees of various 
kinds as soon as the land was cleared, and peach- and plum-trees were 
soon in bearing. They also made large quantities of maple-sugar, raised 
all their own supplies, and, with game in abundance, lived luxuriously 
for those days. This was the first settlement in what is now Snyder 
township." Other early settlers were Baily Hughes, A. J. Ingalls, James 
Pendleton, Dr. William Bennett, A. R. Frost, Samuel Beman, Stephen 
Tibbetts, Jacob Myers, Alonzo Ferman, Bennett Prindle, Charles !^Iat- 
thews, Joseph W. Green, McMinns, and others. 

The pioneer saw-mill was built in 1828 by the Brockway brothers. 
Dr. William Bennett built one of the first saw-mills in the township. In 
1S36, Hoyt and Wilson built a mill where Ferman's is now. In 1841, 
James Pendleton built a saw-mill, grist-mill, and carding-mill on Rattle- 
snake. Early school-teachers were Miss Clarissa Brockway, A. M. Clarke, 
John Kyler, and Mary Warner. 

The first township election was held in 1835 at what is now Matthew 
Bovard's, and the following officers were elected, — viz. : Constable, Myron 
Gibbs ; Supervisors, John McLaughlin, Ami Sibley ; Auditors, Milton 
Johnston, Thomas McCormick, Joseph McCurdy ; Town Clerk, Thomas 
McCormick ; Overseers of the Poor, Myron Gibbs, Joseph McAfee ; 
Assessor, Milton Johnston; Inspector, Myron Gibbs; Fence Appraiser, 
James Ross. 

In 1836, Dr. A. M. Clarke moved into the township and laid out the 
town of Brockway ville. It is pretty hard to locate these old settlers. 
They are found in different townships, owing to the fact that new town- 
ships were being formed, county lines changed, and townships or parts 
thereof stricken from one county and added to either Clearfield or 

Elk. 

469 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"No. 174. An Act establishing and altering Certain Election 
Districts, and for Other Purposes. 

'■'■Be it enacted bx the Senate and House of Representathies of the Com- 
monwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby 
enacted by the authority of the same. . . . 

"Section 28. The township of Snyder, in the county of Jefferson, 
shall hereafter be a separate election district, and the electors thereof 
shall hold their general elections at the house of John McLaughlin, on 
the Brockway road, in said township. Approved April 15, 1835." 

The act of the Legislature, No. no, regulating election districts, 
approved July 11, 1842, established the polling-place for Snyder as 
follows : 

" Section 27. That the qualified voters of the township of Snyder, in 
the county of Jefferson, shall hereafter hold their general and township 
elections at the house of James M. Brockway, in said township." 

The pioneer justice of the peace was Stephen Tibbetts, appointed 
February 14, 1835. 

Dr. A. ]\L Clarke relates the following incident : " When I was about 
twelve or thirteen years of age I was sent, in the winter season, with a yoke 
of oxen and a sled to procure a load of corn from any source from which 
it could be obtained, and found myself belated in the woods ; but at last 
came to a little clearing, where there was an old man by the name of 
Stevens and his wife living in a poor log cabin. I was made welcome to 
the warmth of their fire, which was very pleasant, as I was cold, tired, 
and perhaps hungry. I had brought forage with me, and the team was 
soon cared for, and the old lady busied herself for some time in pre- 
paring a supper for me. She first fried some salt pork, then greased a 
griddle with some of the fat procured from the meat and baked some 
corn-cakes, then made what she called 'a good cup of rye coffee,' sweet- 
ened with pumpkin molasses. I was not hungry enough to much enjoy 
this repast. In the morning, on inquiry of my host, I learned that six 
miles farther down the stream (Bennett's Branch) I could likely get the 
corn at a Mr. Johnston's. I must not return without it, so onward we 
went in the morning, bought the corn and returned home." 

ELDRED TOWNSHIP. 

Eldred, the eighth township, was organized in 1836, and was taken 
from Rose and Barnett townships, and named for Hon. Nathaniel B. 
Eldred, then president judge of this judicial district. Taxables in 1835, 
37; in 1842, 123. The census was, in 1840, 395. 

The pioneer settler in Eldred was Isaac Matson, in 182S. In 1829, 
Walter Templeton, James Linn, and Robert McCreight. In 1830, Elijah 
M. Graham and John McLaughlin. In 1831, David English and Jacob 

470 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Craft. In 1832, Paul Stewart, James Templeton, and James Trimble. In 
1833, Stewart Ross, John Wilson, and Thomas Hall. In 1834, William 
and George Catz and James Summerville. In 1836, Frederick Kahle. 
In 1842, Professor S. W. Smith. Mr. Smith was a highly educated man, 
and served the county as teacher, professor in the academy, and county 
superintendent of schools. 

The pioneer school-house was built at Hall's in 1839. 

The iirst election for township officers was in 1836. The following 
persons were elected, — viz. : Constable, Elijah INI. Graham ; Supervisors, 
Thomas Barr and Thomas Anthony ; School Directors, George Catz, 
Henry Boil, Thomas Hughes, Thomas Hall, Jacob Craft, and John Maize ; 
Poor Overseers, Thomas Callen and Michael Long ; Town Clerk, Jacob 
Craft. The pioneer polling-place was at the home of James Linn, now 
the farm of Timothy Caldwell. 

Joseph Matson, Esq., lived in Eldred township, and in the early days 
he built an outside high brick chimney. He employed a pioneer stone- 
mason by the name of Jacob Penrose to do the job. Penrose was a very 
rough mason, but had a high opinion of his own skill, and was quite 
confiding and bombastic in his way. After he finished the chimney, and 
before removing the scaffold, he came down to the ground to blow off a 
little steam about his work. Placing his arms around Matson's neck, 
he exclaimed, pointing to the chimney, ''There, Matson, is a chimney 
that will last you your lifetime, and your children and your children's 
children." " Look out !" said Matson. " God, she's a coming !" True 
enough, the chimney fell, a complete wreck. 

JENKS TOWNSHIP— A LOST TOWNSHIP. 

Jenks, the ninth township, organized in 1838, was taken from Barnett 
township. This and Tionesta township might be called twins, as both 
were separated at the same time from the same township. Taxables in 
1842, 16; in 1S49, 32- The population in 1840 was 40. The township 
was named in honor of Hon. John W. Jenks, then one of the associate 
judges of Jefferson County. It is now in the bounds of Forest County. 

Cyrus Blood was the pioneer of Jenks and Tionesta townships. He 
brought his family into this wilderness in 1833. For years his farm was 
called the "Blood settlement." When he settled there, the region was 
full of panthers, bears, wolves, wild cats, and deer. Mr. Blood was a 
powerful man, of great energy and courage. He Avas well educated and 
a surveyor. 

Cyrus Blood was born at New Lebanon, New Hampshire, ]^Iarch 3, 
1795. He was educated in Boston. When twenty-two he migrated to 
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was the principal of the academy. 
He was afterwards principal of the Hagerstown Academy, Maryland. 

471 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

He accepted and served as a professor in the Dickinson College, at Car- 
lisle, Pennsylvania. 

Ambitious to found a county, Cyrus Blood made several visits into 
this wilderness, and finding that the northern portion of Jefferson County 
was then an almost unbroken wilderness, he finally purchased a tract of 
land on which Marienville is now located, and decided to make his 
settlement there. 

It was understood when Mr. Blood purchased in Jefferson County 
from the land company that a road would be opened into it for him. In 
1833, when Mr. Blood arrived where Corsica now is, on the Olean road, 
he found to his annoyance that no road had been made. Leaving his 
family behind him, he started from what was then Armstrong's Mill, now 
Clarington, with an ox team, sled, and men to cut their way step by step 
through the wilderness twelve miles to his future home. Every night the 
men camped on and around the ox sled. When the party reached Blood's 
purchase, a patch of ground was cleared and a log cabin reared. In 
October, 1833, Mr. Blood and his five children took possession of this 
forest home. For many years Mr. Blood carried his and the neighbors' 
mail from Brookville. Panthers were so plenty that they have been seen 
in the garden by the children, playing like dogs. For years they had 
to go with their grist to mill to Kittanning, Leatherwood, or Brook- 
ville. 

Trumbull Hunt was the second pioneer. 

The pioneer election was held in Jenks township in 183S. The fol- 
lowing persons were elected to fill township offices : Constable, Cyrus 
Blood ; Supervisors, Cyrus Blood, John Hunt ; School Directors, Cyrus 
Blood, John Hunt, Aaron Brockway, Sr., Aaron Brockway, Jr., Josiah 
Lacey, and John Lewees ; Auditors, John Hunt, Aaron Brockway, Sr., 
and Aaron Brockway, Jr. ; Poor Overseers, Cyrus Blood, Aaron Brock- 
way, Sr. ; Town Clerk, John Hunt ; Fence Viewer, Aaron Brockway, 
Jr. ; Inspector, John Hunt. 

The last and only beavers in this State made their homes here in the 
early thirties, in the great flag swamp or beaver meadows on Salmon Creek. 
These meadows covered about six hundred acres. Furs were occasion- 
ally then brought to Brookville from these meadows by trappers. 

Pioneer election district according to the act of April 16, 1838 : 

" Section 48. That the township of Jenks, in the county of Jefferson, 
is hereby declared a separate district, the election to be held at the house 
now occupied by Cyrus Blood in said township." 

The pioneer hunter was John Aylesworth. He came to Barnett town- 
ship, Jefferson County, or what in 1838 became Jenks township, Jefferson 
County, and is now Jenks township. Forest County, in 1834. He was a 
Connecticut Yankee, but came to this wilderness from Ashtabula, Ohio. 
He was the most noted and famous hunter in this section of Jefferson 

472 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

County. Other early professional hunters were Philip Clover and Ami 
Sibley. 




The pioneer path or trail was opened by Cyrus Blood from Claring- 
ton to Blood's settlement. This was in the year 1833. The pioneer 

31 473 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

road was this "path" widened and improved by Blood several years 
later. 

The pioneer tavern was the home of Cyrus Blood. Mr. Blood built 
the pioneer saw-mill in 1S34 and the pioneer grist-mill in 1S40. These 
mills were erected by him on Salmon Creek. 

The pioneer school-master was John D. Hunt. He taught in the 
winter of 1833-34 in Mr. Blood's home. 

The pioneer preacher was Dr. Otis Smith. The pioneer sermon to 
white people was preached in Mr. Blood's house. 

Brookville was the post-office for this settlement from 1833 to 1843. 

The pioneer court house of Forest County was built in Marienville, 
of hewed logs, and afterwards weather-boarded and painted white. The 
work was done by Bennett Dobbs. (See illustration.) 

What is now Marienville was called for many years "the Blood 
settlement. ' ' 

TIONESTA TOWNSHIP— A LOST TOWNSHIP. 

This, the tenth township organization, was taken from Barnett, in 
1838, and named after a river in its boundary. Taxables in 1S42, 9; 
population in 1840, 27. This township is now Howe, a member of 
Forest County. 

Pioneer election district according to the act of April 16, 1838 : 
"Section 49. That the township of Tionesta, in the county of 
Jefferson, is hereby declared a separate election district, and the election 
shall be held at the house of John Noef, in said township." 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 
ANDREW hunter's BIRTHDAV ANNIVERSARV AN HISTORICAL EVENT. 

Washington, the eleventh township, was organized in 1839, and was 
taken from Snyder and Pine Creek. The township was named for the 
" Father of our Country." Taxables in 1842, 112. Population by census 
1840, 367. 

The township embraced Prospect Hill, Prescottville, Reynoldsville, 
and West Reynoldsville, until Winslow township was formed, hence the 
early settlers on the old State Road and on the turnpike were originally 
in Washington. 

The pioneer settlers in what is now ^^'ashington township were Henry 
Keys, John McGhee, Thomas Moore, Alexander Osborne, and John 
Mcintosh. These pioneers located in 1S24. In 1826, Andrew Smith, 
William Cooper, and John Wilson settled. In 1829, James Smith, Esq., 
settled also. Other early settlers were as follows: John Millen, James 
Ross, David Dennison, William Shaw, Robert Morrison, Robert Smith, 
George Senior, William Smith, Thomas Tedlie, John Magee, William 
McConnell, Alvin H. Head, T. B. McLain, William B. McCullough, 

474 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Alexander Keys, Robert Patton, Daniel Groves, James Groves, John 
Groves, James Welsh, Frederick R. Brown, James liond, and John 
McClelland. 

Joseph McCurdy came to Beechwoods from Indiana County in the year 
I S3 5. He was accompanied by his mother, two brothers, Robert and 
James, and three sisters, Martha, Margaret, who married John Millen, 
and Betsy, who married Andrew Hunter. They settled where James 
McCurdy now lives. As a man, he was very quiet and unassuming, 
without show or pretence. He was faithful as a Christian, firm and de- 
cided as an elder in maintaining discipline in the church, and mild in 
enforcing the same ; a firm believer in the doctrines of the Presbyterian 
Church as being the truth taught by the word of God. These truths he 
unflinchingly maintained and defended through life. He did much for 
the church, and after his death his mantle fell upon his brother James. 

In 1830, John and Andrew Hunter settled on farms. Andrew lived 
to be over one hundred years old, and as the celebration of his centen- 
nial birthday was the first and only event of the kind in this county, I 
reprint my report of that interesting occasion, made at the time for the 
Brookville Jeffersoman Democrat, — viz. : 

"A GREAT BIRTHDAY. 
"CELEBRATION OF ANDREW HUNTER'S ONE HUNDRED VEARS OF LIFE. 

'■'Jefferson County's Centenarian. 

"Born in Ireland, October i, 1790, living in Jefferson County, Penn- 
sylvania, October i, 1S90. Has one sister living aged ninety-seven, and 
a brother ninety-five. Located on his farm in Washington township in 
1830. He is bright, intelligent, and pleasant to converse with. Hand- 
some, short in stature, rosy-cheeked, with a fine head of iron-gray hair. 
A widower for many years, and will probably not remarry. Always an 
early riser and a hard worker. Has never been sick, never used tobacco, 
but drinks tea and coffee, and believes that a little ' gude whuskey,' un- 
less taken to excess, 'will not hurt ony man at all, at all.' Occasion- 
ally goes to a wedding, but attends church regularly. A strict Presby- 
terian. Leads the family devotions night and morning. Is lively, loves 
jokes, laughs heartily, and enjoys life. Is opposed to all modern innova- 
tions in the church, such as organs, improved psalmody, etc. 

"A friend remarked to him, ' I suppose, Mr. Hunter, they are getting 
some new-fangled ideas in the church up here?' 'Aye, feth, that's jest 
what they're doin'. They are singin' human composition in the church 
now. I fought it with all my might, but they overpowered me, and I 
did not go back for three months. I thought I never would go back ; 
but then I said for all the wee time I had to stay, I might just as weel 
go back. Our i)reacher came over to make us a visit, and I just took the 

475 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

opportunity to give him a piece of my mind, and after I was through he 
had not one word in reply to make, for he had not a particle of founda- 
tion to stand upon.' 




Andrew Hunter, one hundred years old. 

"The gathering at Mr. Hunter's home yesterday was an immense 
affair, worthy of the occasion, — the celebration of the one hundredth anni- 
versary of his birth. Relatives, friends, and neighbors were present. The 
old, the middle-aged, and the infant were there. 

476 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"The company numbered fully a thousand, coming from various 
parts of the county, and some from outside. At noon refreshments were 
served for all present, a special table being prepared for the old patri- 
arch, with Judge Jenks, Rev. Filson, Dr. McKnight, James McCurdy, and 
other friends near him. The old gentleman laughed, joked, and ate 
a hearty meal. He hears ordinary talk and has nearly all his lower 
teeth. 

"At one P.M. Rev. Filson preached an old-fashioned sermon, Rev. 
Hill explaining the psalm. The clerks in charge of the singing were A. 
McCuUough and Elder William Smith, one lining the psalm and the 
other leading the music. Mr. Hunter joined in the singing. 

"Addresses were made by Hon. W. P. Jenks and Dr. W. J. Mc- 
Knight ; an original poem, by Willie Wray, was read by Rev. Hill. Mr. 
Hunter's neighbors i)resented him with a gold-headed cane on which to 
lean in the second century of his life. A photograph of the company 
was taken by E. Clark Hall, of Brookville. This was the greatest event 
ever witnessed in this section of Jefferson County. 

"The following old people were present : James Welsh, William Mc- 
Connell, W. P. Jenks, W. McCurdy and wife, of Indiana, Dr. McCurdy, 
of Freeport, John Cooper, S. Patton, D. B. McConnell, J. Shaw, R. Os- 
borne, I. Morrison, J. Sterrett and wife, N. Riggs, J. Snoddy, Dr. Niver 
and wife, J. Clover, W. Smith, R. Smith, J. R. INIillen, W. Patton, J. 
McCurdy, M. Smith, T. Moore, J. Crawford, J. Dixon, R. Sterrett, 
James Cooper, H. Maginnis, D. Motherell, Mrs. Wray, Mrs. J. B. Hen- 
derson, Mrs. McClure, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. McCurdy, Mrs. Harker, Mrs. 
Daily, Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. J. Hunter, Mrs. M. Smith, Miss A. McCurdy, 
Mrs. Mcintosh, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Maxwell, Mrs J. J. Stewart, N. B. 
Lane and wife. 

" Following is the address delivered by Dr. W. J. McKnight : 

"'Ladies and (rExri.EMEN, — Ordinary birthday celebrations are 
pleasant to neighbors and friends, but the pleasure to celebrate the birth- 
day of a friend and neighbor who has reached the age of one hundred 
years is seldom realized or enjoyed by any community. We are here 
to day to celebrate a centennial birthday. Our neighbor, Andrew 
Hunter, was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, October i, 1790. It is 
now October i, 1890. He emigrated to America in 1825, and located 
where he now resides in 1830, having lived here sixty years. He is 
what we Americans call a Scotch-Irishman. As Americans we are proud 
of this blood. In our struggle for independence they were loyal. A 
Tory was unheard of among them. Pennsylvania and the nation owe 
very much of their greatness to this race. Natural-born leaders and 
orators, they have given us statesmen, teachers, professors, ministers, 
physicians, judges. Congressmen, and generals, even to our Sheridan 
and Grant. They have furnished the nation with seven Presidents and 

477 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

our State with seven governors. Brave, intelligent, warm hearted, and 
true, their influence must and always will be potent. 

" ' But, ladies and gentlemen, others have spoken of Mr. Hunter and 
his virtues as a man and a citizen. I endorse all that has been said. To 
say more of him personally would be unseemly. Therefore let us 

" ' Lift the twilight curtains of the past 

And, turning from familiar sight and sound. 

Sadly and full of reverence, let us cast 

A glance upon tradition's shadowy ground.' 

" ' When Andrew Hunter first saw the light of day George Washing- 
ton was President, our territory small, only thirteen States, and our pop- 
ulation but three million. He has lived to see our nation grow to forty- 
four States, our people increase to sixty-five million, and our country to 
rise from poverty to the wealth of fifty-six billion dollars. He has lived 
to see our territory become as large as Russia in Europe, Norway, Sweden, 
Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria- Hungary, Switzerland, 
Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Crreat Britain, and Ireland, fronting on 
two great oceans, and populated, too, with a people only twenty per 
cent, of whom are unable to read and write. 

" ' In the year Andrew Hunter was born letter postage was twelve and 
a half cents every one hundred miles ; today two cents will send a letter 
three thousand miles. Then we had but seventy-five post-offices ; now we 
have sixty thousand one hundred and forty. In those days the mails 
were carried on horseback or in stage-coaches. Communications of news, 
business, or affection were slow and uncertain, but to-day, with rapid 
railroad transportation, 

" ' Letters are l)ut affection's touches. 
Lightnings from friendship's lamp.' 

"'In T790 railroads were unknown. To-day there is in the United 
States one hundred and seventy thousand miles of railroad. Over these 
roads there were carried last year five hundred million people and six 
hundred million tons of freight. Employed upon them are one million 
men, thirty thousand locomotives, twenty-one thousand passenger-cars, 
seven thousand baggage- cars, and one million freight cars. The total 
capital invested is eight billion dollars. The disbursements for labor 
and repairs are yearly six hundred and fifty million dollars. As a Penn- 
sylvanian I am proud to say our own Pennsylvania road is the greatest, 
the best, and most perfect in management and construction of any road 
in the world. We have smoking-cars, with bath room, barber-shop, 
writing-desks, and library. We have dining cars in which are served 
refreshments that a Delmonico cannot surpass. We have parlor- cars 

47.S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

with bay-windows and luxurious furniture, and we have cars with beds 
for sleeping soft as the " eider down." 

"'In the year Andrew Hunter was born training-day was a great 
event. All men were required by law to participate in a day of general 
military drill. No uniforms were worn, save the homespun dress of each 
soldier. Each company was armed with sticks, pikes, muskets, or guns, 
and were preceded in their marches by a fife or drum. An odd and 
comic sight it must have been. Royal amusements in 1 790 were shoot- 
ing-matches, rollings, huskings, scutchings, flax-breakings, apple-parings, 
and quiltings. Dancing was not entirely overlooked. Books were few 
and but little schooling to be had. Woman's extravagances in dress was 
then and is now a juicy topic for grumblers. 

" ' In 1790 no steamboat had ever navigated the water, nothing but 
old sail-crafts being used. A trip across the ocean required from four 
weeks to three months. Father Hunter was six weeks on the ocean. 
Now we skip across in six and seven days. Then it took weeks and 
months to hear the news from Europe or Asia ; now we hear daily from 
the whole world. We have only to speak across the ocean, when our 
brother in Europe or Asia greets us and replies. 

"'In the year Andrew Hunter was born Pennsylvania contained a 
population of four hundred and thirty-four thousand three hundred and 
seventy-three; now we have five million people. In 1790 the curse of 
slavery rested on Pennsylvania, for in that year three thousand seven 
hundred and thirty-seven human beings were considered "property" 
within her borders and held as slaves. Sixty-four of these slaves were 
still in our State in 1S40. 

"'In 1790, Jefferson County was unknown. No white man lived 
within her borders. Nature reigned supreme. The shade of the forest 
was heavy the whole day through. Now our county contains a popula- 
tion of forty-three thousand. We have schools, churches, telegraphs, 
telephones, and court all the time. 

" ' The great coal deposits that underlie forty-two of our counties was 
known to exist at that early date, but its use was not understood. Some 
hard coal was mined and shipped to Philadelphia for a market, but not 
knowing what to do with it, it was finally used to repair the roads. Our 
people are alive novv to its use, as the following exhibit will show: In 
1 888 there was mined in Pennsylvania of hard coal forty-one million six 
hundred and thirty eight thousand four hundred and eighty-four tons, 
giving employment to one hundred and sixteen thousand and forty two 
people. In 1888 there was mined in Pennsylvania thirty-three million 
seven hundred and seventy- two thousand two hundred and eighty-five 
tons of bituminous coal, giving employment to sixty thousand nine hun- 
dred and forty-six people. Total output of hard and soft coal in 1888, 
seventy-five million four hundred and ten thousand seven hundred and 

479 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

sixty nine tons. Total number of people employed in mining, one 
hundred and seventy-six thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine. 

'' ' In the year 1790 men were imprisoned for debt and kept in prison 
until the last farthing was paid. The jails of that day were but little 
better than dungeons. There was no woman's Christian temperance 
union, no woman's relief corps, no society for the prevention of cruelty 
to animals or children. 

"'In 1790 domestic comforts were few. No stove had been in- 
vented. Large, deep fireplaces with cranes, andirons, and bake- ovens 
were the only modes of heating and cooking. Friction-matches were 
unknown. If the fire of the house went out, you had to rekindle with a 
flint or borrow of your neighbor. I have borrowed fire. House furni- 
ture was then meagre and rough. There were no window-blinds or car- 
pets. Rich people w^hitew^ashed their ceilings and rooms, and covered 
their parlor-floors with white sand. Hence the old couplet : 

" ' Oh, dear mother, my toes are sore 
A dancing over your sanded floor.' 

" ' Pine-knots, tallow-dipped candles burned in iron or brass candle- 
sticks, and whale oil burned in iron lamps were the means for light in 
stores, dwellings, etc. Food was scarce, coarse, and of the most common 
kind, with no canned goods or evaporated fruits. In addition to cooking 
in the open fireplace, women had to spin, knit, dye, and weave all domes- 
tic cloths, there being no mills run by machinery to make woollen or 
cotton goods. Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup and baby-carriages were 
unknown. The bride of 1790 took her wedding-trip on foot or on horse- 
back behind the bridegroom on a " pillion." 

" ' Men wore no beards, whiskers, or moustaches, their faces being as 
clean shaven and as smooth as a girl's. A beard was looked upon as an 
abomination, and fitted only for Hessians, heathen, or Turks. In 1790 
not a single cigar had ever been smoked in the United States. I wish I 
could say that of to-day. There were no aniline dyes, no electric lights, 
no ansesthetics and painless surgery, no gun-cotton, no nitro glycerin, no 
dynamite, giant powder, audiphones, pneumatic tubes, or type-writers. 
No cotton-gin, no planting-machine, no mower or reaper, no hay-rake, 
no hay-fork, no corn-sheller, no rotary printing-press, no sewing-machine, 
no knitting-machine, no envelopes for letters, no india-rubber goods, 
coats, shoes, or cloaks, no grain elevator except man, no artificial ice, no 
steel pens, no telegraph or telephone, no street-cars, no steam-mills, no 
daguerreotypes or photographs, no steam-ploughs, no steam-thresher, 
only the old hand-flail, no wind-mill, and no millionaire in the whole 
country. Cleneral 'Washington was the richest man, and he was only 
worth eight hundred thousand dollars. 

" ' In 1790 slavery prevailed in all Christendom. It was everywliere 

4S0 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in manner and in fact. Men, women, and children were bought and 
sold like cattle. Now there is no slavery in all Christendom. No more 
human auction-blocks, no more masters, no more driver's lash. Bless 
God! 

" ' Our fathers established the first Christian, non-sectarian govern- 
ment in the world, and declared as the chief corner-stone of that govern- 
ment Christ's teaching, that all men are "born free and equal;" love 
your neighbor as yourself. Since this thought has been carried into 
effect by our non-sectarian government, it has done more to elevate and 
civilize mankind in the last one hundred years than had ever been ac- 
complished in all time before. Under the humane and inspiring influ- 
ence of this grand idea put into practice the wheels of progress, science, 
religion, and civilization have made gigantic strides, and our nation espe- 
cially, from ocean to ocean, from arctic ice to tropic sun, is filled with 
smiling, happy homes, rich fields, blooming gardens, and bright firesides, 
made such by Christian charity carried into national and State constitu- 
tional enactment.' " 

The pioneer voting-place was at the cabin of James Wait. 

The pioneer birth in the township was that of William McChee in 
1825. The pioneer marriage, Henry Keys and Catherine Wilson in 1826. 
The pioneer death, Mary, wife of John Hunter, in 1830. The pioneer 
graveyard, on Cooper's Hill in 1S31. Pioneer merchant, Thomas J]. Mc- 
Lain, near Beechtree. Other early merchants, W. B. McCuUough, Alvin 
Head. Pioneer church, Presbyterian, organized December 3, 1832, with 
fourteen members. The pioneer cabin was constructed by three men 
only, — viz. : Thomas Moore, Henry Keys, and John Mcintosh. 

The pioneer township election was held in 1839, and the following 
persons were elected, — viz. : Constable, John IMcGhee ; Supervisors, John 
Mcintosh and Tilton Reynolds ; Auditors, Andrew Smith, Oliver Mc- 
Clelland, William Reynolds, and Joshua Rhea ; School Directors, Oliver 
McClelland, Andrew Smith, James McConnell, William Reynolds, John 
Fuller, and John Horm ; Fence Appraisers, James Smith and Oliver 
Welch ; Poor Overseers, Henry Keys and Tilton Reynolds ; Town Clerk, 
John Wilson. 

In I S3 1, John Wilson erected an up-and-down saw- mill near Rock- 
dale. 

Archie Campbell, James Wait, Samuel, James, and Robert Kyle were 
early settlers, too. Archie Campbell and James Kyle were brothers-in- 
law. They were odd, eccentric, and stingy, but each prided himself on 
being very generous. The Kyles and Campbell had the reputation of 
being wealthy. Pearly in the forties the women in that part of Washing- 
ton township took a notion to fix up Prospect Graveyard, and in order to 
reach the Kyles and Campbell a subscription paper was put in the hands 
of Jimmie Kyle. Jimmie was an old bachelor. The first thing he did 

481 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

after getting the paper was to call on Archie Campbell, when the follow- 
ing conversation, in a dignified manner, took place : 

" Giid-morning, Muster Cummell." 

" Gud morning. Muster Kyle." 

"Are yez all well this morning. Muster Cummell?" 

" Yes, Muster Kyle, there's only me and Mary, and we're all well." 

" Muster Cummell, I've got a subscription paper here to fix the grave- 
yard beyand, and wud you be after putting something down?" 

" Egad, no, Muster Kyle, not a cint for that ould cow-pasture. As 
long as I luv I won't be burried there. Egad, I won't." 

" Wull, Muster Cummell, we duffer in opinion on that, for if I luv 
and kape me health, I wull." 

Pioneer school-master, William Reynolds, in 1832. Other early 
instructors: Alexander Cochran, 1833; William Kennedy, 1834; Betsy 
McCurdy and Thomas Reynolds, 1S35 ; Oliver and Nancy Jane McClel- 
land, 1836; Fanny McConnell and Rev. Dexter Morris, 1S3S; Peggy 
Mcintosh and Finley McCormick, 1839; Joseph Sterrett and Nancy Jane 
McClelland, 1S40. The master taught three month terms in the winter, 
the women two in the summer. 

This township was settled by Scotch-Irish, mostly from the counties 
Antrim and Tyrone, Ireland. They were as a unit agricultural. One 
noted hunter was reared there, — viz. : Cieorge Smith. Before the advent 
of the settlers the Indians made maple-sugar here. Trees are still stand- 
ing that were notched for this purpose by the savage tomahawk. The 
early Irish settlers took up this business and made tons and tons and 
barrels and barrels of maple molasses and sugar every spring. As a result 
no sugar trust or Claus Spreckels had any terrors for them. 

Money was scarce, and the pioneers and early settlers of this township 
paid their debts usually " with sugar in the spring and oats after harvest." 
I lived in my boyhood four years with Joseph McCurdy, in this township. 
I desire to say here that he was an honest man and a true Christian gen- 
tleman. 

The pioneer history of this section of the county has been graphically 
portrayed by Rev. Boyd McCullough, who settled with his parents in the 
Beechwoods in 1S32, in his "Sketches of Local History" and the 
"Shamrock," published by him, from which the following incidents are 
taken : 

"In 1833 there was a beautiful fall. Keys's folks sowed wheat in 
November. The next spring was favorable, and it was a bountiful crop. 
This was a great loss to the settlement, for the people were encouraged to 
sow as much as they could get in any time through October, and the rust 
generally ruined it, until they learned wit by dear experience. 

" The winter of 1831 was a very cold one, and in the severest part of 
it the house of John Hunter was burned down. The neighbors soon 

482 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

gathered together and put up a log house for him, but he lost nearly 
everything he owned by the fire. 

'• It was in the spring of 1832 that we moved into the woods. There 
were seventeen families in the woods at that time. We stopped at An- 
drew Smith's. I was seven years old. The next morning I ran in with 
the news that there was an ass with very slim legs and a small nose in the 
yard. I was told it was a deer. They had petted several young deer at 
different times. 

"That fall the first school was started in the place. (Waites ) The 
log school-house had one regular window with six lights. The other 
window was made by removing a log and placing panes of glass in the 
cavity joining each other. A writing-desk was made by driving pins in 
the logs below this window, and laying rough boards upon it. The fire- 
place was made by building a stone wall against the logs as high as the 
loft ; from this a kind of a flue was made of pine sticks and clay. Some- 
times the smoke found its way up the chimney and sometimes it wandered 
through the house. William Reynolds taught this first school for ten 
dollars a month, half in cash and half in grain after harvest. People 
who do not know half as much would turn up their noses at treble that 
pay now. 

"The kindly spring came gently on, and we then commenced to 
make sugar. Right pleasant it is to see the luscious juice drop, drop, 
dropping from trees all over the hill, while roaring fire makes the syrup 
go foaming and dancing in the kettle till it is time to take it out and put 
fresh sap in. It is hard work, but then you can see the progress you are 
making, and you get your pay immediately. 

" There was no school in summer, but we attended Sabbath-school in 
the school-house. This school was organized by Rev. Mr. Riggs in 1831, 
but it existed before that. Robert Mcintosh and Betty Keys had started 
it when there were but (ew families in the place. It went from house to 
house before there was any school house. 

"James and Andrew Smith, father and son, Thomas Ledlie, and 
Alexander Cochran might be mentioned as men whose deep thought gave 
an intellectual tone to discussions. Robert Mcintosh, Sr., was the first 
superintendent. He was not a man of extended information, but his 
devoted spirit and warm cordial impulse gave a great interest to his devo- 
tional exercises, and made him universally respected. Well do I remem- 
ber the last time I saw him in the Sabbath-school. He closed by singing 
the sixth psalm, long meter, in the old version, — ' Lord, in thy wrath, 
rebuke me not.' That was the fall of 1833, and he died in the fall of 

1834. 

"Betty Keys was also the life of the school, as long as her health 
enabled her to attend. She was said to be very self-willed and opiniona- 
tive, and on one occasion the young women, returning from'Sabbath- 

4S3 



PIQNEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

school, were walking ahead, and the men in a company behind, all except 
Oliver McClelland, who was walking with the girls. She invited him to 
fall back in the company of men, and so maintain the decorum due the 
day. That she loved to rule might be true, but certain it is that if she 
ruled it was by the gentle power of love. We children, no matter what 
class we belonged to, were accustomed to look up to her as to one su- 
perior to the rest, and as one who could scarcely do anything wrong. 
We carried our dinners with us, as there was Sabbath-school in the morn- 
ing and prayer-meeting in the afternoon. 

" When we came to the Beechwoods the soil was rich and the vegeta- 
tion luxurious, but the subsoil was poor. Thousands of years ago great 
currents of water must have swept westward, carrying the soil into Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois, leaving the heavy deposits of iron and rock. When 
the climate became drier and the streams shrank to their present size, a 
growth of forest followed. The decaying leaves of two or three thou- 
sand years formed this rich mould. Scarcely was the snow of winter gone 
when the wild leeks peeped up like corn. At first they had not much of 
their rampant taste, and cattle nipped them off greedily. Before they got 
strong, the curley weed showed itself, vellera and broad leaf followed. 
All these had thick juicy roots, which lived over winter. By the middle 
of June the wild peavine gave pasturage. Besides these, which the cattle 
ate, there were many flowers that they did not eat, the mandrake, the 
sweet-william, the phlox, the honeysuckle, and the violet. 

" Bees found homes in the hollow trees as conveniently as food in the 
flowers. The blossoms of the trees also gave them their choice honey. 
The crops were often good. In 1835 we planted a bushel and a half of 
potatoes in one patch of new ground, covering them with leaves, and 
scratching enough clay over them to keep the leaves down. It was a wet 
season, which was the most suitable for such planting, and we dug thirty- 
six bushels of potatoes. The same year the Keyses had four hundred 
bushels to the acre. Another year James Smith had as good a yield. 

" One year, perhaps in 1836, William Smith, Sr., had soft corn, owing 
to the season, and the next year he thought he would plant more. His 
wife planted a patch by the house and took every care of it. The crop 
yielded at the rate of a hundred bushels of shelled corn to the acre. In 
those days people hardly ever sowed timothy seed at all. A little seed 
in the wheat got into the ground, and taking hold in fence corners and 
around stumps, was ready to spread when a field was thrown out. Two 
tons of hay to the acre was thought nothing remarkable, yet all this was 
the product of rich mould on the surface. People did not know how 
poor the subsoil was or they would have kept up the condition of their 
land. 

" Rev. Joseph McGarrah assisted Rev. Mr. Riggs to hold the first com- 
munion in the Beechwoods. A son of Mr. McGarrah told me, in a chat 

484 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

about the old times, that in 1815 he went to a store with a bag of wheat. 
He went on horseback twelve miles, and got seventy-five cents a bushel 
for his wheat, and paid fifty cents a pound for coffee and twenty-five 
cents a piece for tin cups to eat mush and milk out of. It was night when 
he got back, and he brought two pounds of coffee and two tin cups for 
his bag of wheat. 

"It was not so bad in 1S36 as in 1S15, but still we had the difficulty 
of cheap produce and dear store goods. It was five pounds of coffee, four 
yards of coarse muslin, or six yards of poor calico for a dollar, when a 
dollar represented two days' hard work. And then cash could not be had 
for work, and many articles the merchants would not sell without money. 

" If the young people want to know how we got along in those days, 
I will tell them we got along exactly as we do now. When tired we 
grunted, when hurt we grinned, when pleased we laughed, exactly as we 
do now. The young men winked at the girls, and the girls smiled back 
as often and pleasantly as you do now. But to be more definite, the men 
shore the sheep, the women scoured the wool, and the girls made a 
frolic to pick it. It was sent to the carding-machine, and then spun by 
hand. The yarn was carried to the weaver. The cloth was soused in 
soapsuds and thrown on the kitchen floor, where the boys kicked it until 
it was fulled up ; then, colored with butternut, it was made up into men's 
clothing. The women were a little more tasty, and wore barred flannel 
colored with indigo, madder, etc. If people did not look quite as well 
in homespun as in broadcloth, they felt as happy. 

" In 1841, Billy Richards set up a fulling-mill on North Fork. This 
was a great relief, as before we had to carry our cloth to Frederick Holo- 
peter's, somewhere in Clearfield County. Remember, this home made 
cloth cost more, counting the labor, than fine cloth does now, but it was 
the best we had, and we felt proud of it. 

" I think it was in 1830 that Rev. Gary Bishop came from Phillipsburg 
to marry James Waite and Mattie Mcintosh. The temperance reform 
had not started then. Mr. Bishop carried a jug of whiskey in one end of 
his saddle-bags and a stone in the other to cheer the wedding-guests. It 
was the whiskey, not the stone, that cheered the guests. They had no 
fighting. He baptized Susan Mcintosh, now Mrs. Stevenson, at the 
wedding. The reader will perceive that they were in the habit of killing 
two birds with one stone in those economical days." 

The pioneer temperance society was the Washingtonians, organized 
in 1S42, by Hugh Brady, S. B. Bishop, and Samuel Lucas, of Brookville, 
Pennsylvania. Fifty members were enrolled. 

In I S3 1, Rev. Riggs made a missionary tour through the settlement. 
He made a pastoral visit to each family, and preached on two Sundays. 
The only capitalist in the " Woods" was Matthew Keys, — he had a five- 
dollar bill. Each settler agreed to give Keys twenty-five cents apiece as 

4S5 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

soon as he could get it if he would give Mr. Riggs the bill. This Keys 
did, and then the settlement was without a cent. 

Archie Campbell married Mary Ann Kyle. Archie and his wife lived 
in the vicinity of what is now Reynoldsville, and one winter day they 
concluded to visit the Kyles. They hitched up their horse in a little 
jumper, and reached their destination, some four miles over the Ceres 
road, and remained overnight with their relations. During the night 
there was a heavy snow-fall. On starting home in the morning the 
Kyles presented Mary Ann with a small crock of apple-butter. The 
crock was stored between Mrs. Campbell's feet when she took her seat in 
the jumper. The road-track was covered with fresh snow, and Archie 
could not, of course, discern it. After driving some distance he struck a 
trot, the jumper went over a stump, and threw Archie and Mary Ann 
violently into the snow. Archie scrambled up and cried, " Mary Ann, 
my dear, are you hurted ?" " My thigh is broken, my thigh is broken, 
Archie !" Archie rushed to her aid, and running his hand up her limb to 
ascertain her injury, he exclaimed, " It's wurse than that, it's wurse than 
that, Mary Ann ; your bowels are busted, your bowels are busted !" 
And it was only apple-butter. 



PORTER TOWNSHIP. 

Porter, the twelfth township, organized in 1840, was taken from Perry 
township, and named for David R. Porter, then the governor of Penn- 
sylvania. This township has a post-office called Porter, situated about 
twenty miles south of Brook ville. Taxables in 1842, 192; population 
by census in 1840, 977. 

" It is difficult to point out the distinguishing characteristics of the 
several townships, and we will not attempt to specify the advantages or 
the opposites of this division. It is similar to Perry and Ringgold, and 
its early settlers were cast in the same rugged mould. Agriculture ranks 
first in this section, and the farms generally are in excellent condition." 
— Atlas. 

Pioneer settlers: in 1803, James McClelland; in 1804, Benjamin 
Ions; in 1806, David Hamilton; in 1815, Elijah Ekis, Michael Lantz, 
and William Smith. The first person born in the township was Robert 
Hamilton. The pioneer graveyard was in 1843. The pioneer church 
society organized was by the Methodists in 183S. The pioneer church 
was built in 1843. The pioneer camp meeting was held in this township 
in 1836. 

The pioneer election for township officers was in 1840, and the fol- 
lowing officers were chosen, — viz. : Justice of the Peace, John Robinson ; 
Constable, John Hice ; Supervisors, Conrad Nolf, Ceo. Miller ; Auditors, 
John McAninch, John Robinson, William McAninch, William Ferguson ; 

4S6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Judge of Election, William Foster; Inspectors, Robert E. Kennedy, 
Daniel McGregor. 

CLOVER TOWNSHIP. 

This was the thirteenth township, being organized in 1S41. It was 
taken from Rose township, and called for Levi G. Clover, then prothono- 
tary of the county. Troy (post-ofifice Summerville) is the place where 
the people get their mails, and is now an important shipping-point and 
trade centre. Taxables in 1842, 145. 

The pioneer settler in what is now Clover township was Samuel 
Baldwin, in 181 2. Early settlers, Solomon Fuller, John Welch, before 
1816; Darius Carrier, 1816; in 1818, Thomas and John Lucas; in 1S19, 
Robert Andrews and Walter Templeton ; in 1820, Frederick Heterick, 
Henry Lot, Alonzo Baldwin, and the Carrier brothers; and in 1821, 
INIoses Knapp. 

The pioneer church was organized in 1828, by the Associate Reformed 
Seceders. In 1831 the pioneer church building was erected by this asso- 
ciation on the farm of Robert Andrews, and the Rev. Joseph Scroggs 
was pastor. The pioneer school- house was built on the John Lucas farm 
in 1825. The pioneer school-master was Robert Knox. Rev. ^Villiam 
Kennedy preached here occasionally at that time. In 1827, Joseph 
McGiffin taught a six-months' term of school, at fifty cents a month per 
scholar, in the Lucas school-house. 

In 1S40, Dr. James Dowling organized a militia company called the 
" Independent Greens," — a rifle company. The uniform of these soldiers 
consisted of green baize cloth trimmed with red fringe. The coat was 
made in the form of a shirt. The uniform of the band or drum corps 
was a bright red, and the members were the "Lucas l-Jand." Muster 
and reviews at that time were occasionally held on the farm of Robert 
Andrews. 

The pioneer physician in what is now Clover township was Dr. R. K. 
Scott, in 1826; Dr. James Dowling, in 1S37. 

The people of that day seemed to be as anxious for "salt territory" 
as we are now for "oil territory." Thomas and John Lucas settled on 
the flat called Puckerty. They bored for salt, found some salt water, but 
never made a success of their well. In 1840 INIajor Johnston sank a 
well with pole power, eight hundred and fifty feet deep, and struck what 
w^as then called a three barrel well. This was below Troy. James An- 
derson purchased these works from Johnston, and made salt at the "salt- 
works below Troy" for twenty-five years. I5efore these works were 
started our people had to go to Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, 
for salt, and bring the salt on horseback on pack-saddles. Salt sold then 
for five and six dollars a barrel. 

Pioneer saw-mills: 1S14, on Hiram's Run, Mr. Scott; 1820, Thos. 

4S7 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Lucas, at Puckerty; 1822, Moses Knapp, at Baxter; 1825, Moses Knapp, 
at Knapp's Bend. In 1838, Moses Knapp built a grist-mill alongside of 
this mill at the Bend. In 1836, Darius Carrier built a grist-mill in what 
is now called Troy. 

The pioneer election in Clover township was in 1842, and but one 
officer was elected, — viz. : Wm. Magill, fence viewer. 

In 1843 the following-named persons were elected to fill the township 
offices, — viz. : Inspectors, Samuel Milliron, Euphrastus Carrier ; Judge of 
Election, Solomon Fuller ; Supervisors, James Sowers, Hazard Jacox ; 
School Directors, Hiram Carrier, Matthew Dickey, John Shields, Henry 
Scott, Samuel Lucas, and Christopher Fogle ; Constable, Charles Jacox ; 
Assessor, Euphrastus Carrier; Auditors, D. Fairweather, P. I. Lucas; 
Poor Overseer, Elijah Heath, Robert Andrews ; Town Clerk, A. Baldwin. 

The act of the Legislature No. no, regulating election districts, 
approved July 11, 1842, established the polling-place for Clover town- 
ship as follows : 

" Section 12. That the qualified voters of Clover township, Jefferson 
County, shall hereafter hold their general election at the house of Darius 
Carrier, in the village of Troy, in said township." 

GASKILL TOWNSHIP. 

Gaskill was the fourteenth township, organized in 1842, taken from 
Young township, and named after Hon. Charles C. Gaskill, then agent 
of the Holland Land Company, of Jefferson and adjoining counties. 
Taxables in 1842, 78. 

" 'This is a good township,' an observing farmer from Eastern Penn- 
sylvania remarked, and well he said, for the landscape is dotted with 
real farm-homes, and the products of the soil are of many kinds, and of 
a quantity and quality that would suit the fastidious taste of an Orange 
County (New York) agriculturist. This is the home of Joseph Winslow, 
the pioneer. The primitive tilling of the past has been followed by the 
advanced (theoretical as well as practical) culture of the present, and 
they who could not raise wheat in the early part of the century are known 
only by tradition. The times have changed, and with them the moon- 
consulting and sign-believing wiseacres of fifty years ago. We can only 
say , Tempus fugit. ' ' — A tlas . 

The pioneer settler was Carpenter Winslow, in 1S18. He came from 
Maine. Other early settlers were Francis Leech, Daniel Coffman, Reuben 
Clemson, John and Philip Bovvers, and John Van Horn, in 1820, The 
pioneer grist- and saw-mill in the township was built by William Neel in 

1843. 

" When these families settled in the neighborhood game was very 
plenty, and it is said that they were frequently obliged to go out at 
night and drive whole droves of deer out of their grain-fields. Like all 

4SS 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the other early pioneers, these people had to encounter hardships, priva- 
tions, and dangers, which called forth all their powers of endurance, and 
they were for many years obliged to practise the closest economy ; but 
hope, faith, and endurance overcame all difficulties, and they lived to see 
beautiful farms as the result of those years of toil." 

The pioneer lumberman was Philip Bowers, in 1836. 

The pioneer graveyard was at Bowers's, in 1S40. 

The pioneer election was held in the township in 1841, and the fol- 
lowing township officers were elected : Constable, Joseph Winslow ; 
Supervisors, John Pifer, Henry Miller, John Kaufifman ; Auditors, Henry 
PhilliiDs, Philip Bowers, Thomas Thompson ; School Directors, Henry 
Miller, Jonathan Strouse, David Harney, Philip Bowers ; Judge of Elec- 
tion, John D. Phillips ; Poor Overseers, Thomas Thompson ; Town 
Clerk, Henry Miller ; Fence- Viewers, Andrew INIcCreight and John Pifer. 

The act of the Legislature No. no, regulating election districts, ap- 
proved July IT, 1842, established the polling-place for Gaskill township 
as follows : 

"Section 9. That the qualified voters of Gaskill township, Jefferson 
County, shall hereafter hold their general and township elections at the 
house of Henry Miller, in said township. ' ' 

FENCE-VIEWERS. 

It will be noticed that in each of these pioneer elections that one or 
more persons were annually elected as fence-viewers. This office was 
abolished by act of Legislature in 1842, and in order that the readers of 
this volume may understand the duties of this office I here reproduce the 
act creating this office : 

"An Act for regulating and maintaining Line-Fences, and for 

OTHER Purposes. 

"Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That in addition to the duties now 
imposed upon the township auditors, they shall hereafter perform the 
duties hereinafter prescribed as fence-viewers. That in addition to the 
oath now prescribed to be taken by the auditors, they shall annually be 
sworn or affirmed to discharge their duties as such viewers faithfully and 
impartially. 

"Section 2. In case of the death, removal, or resignation ... so 
elected, the judges of the court of the proper county shall appoint a suit- 
able person. . . . 

" Section 3. When any two persons shall improve lands adjacent to 
each other ... so that any part of the first person's fence becomes the 
partition fence between them, in both these cases the charge of such 
division fence, so far enclosed on both sides, shall be equally borne 
and maintained by both parties. 

52 4S9 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Section 4. On notice given the said viewers shall within five days 
thereafter view and examine any line fence as aforesaid, and shall make 
a certificate in writing, setting forth whether, in their opinion, the fence 
if one has been already built is sufficient, and if not, what proportion of 
the expense of building a new or repairing the old fence should be borne 
by each party, and in each case they shall set forth the sum which in 
their judgment each party ought to pay to the other in case he shall re- 
pair or build his proportion of the fence, a copy of which certificate shall 
be delivered to each of the parties ; and the said viewers shall receive the 
sum of one dollar for every day necessarily spent by them in the discharge 
of their duties, which they shall be entitled to receive from the delin- 
quent party, or in equal sums from each as they shall decide to be just. 

" Section 5. If the party who shall be delinquent in making or re- 
pairing of any fence shall not, within ten days after a copy of the certifi- 
cate of the viewers shall have been delivered to him, proceed to repair or 
build the said fence, and complete the same in a reasonable time, it shall 
be lawful for the parties aggrieved to repair or build the said fence ; and 
he may bring suit before any justice of the peace or alderman against the 
delinquent party, and recover, as in other actions, for work, labor, ser- 
vice done, and materials found, and either party may appeal from the 
decision of the justice or aldermen as in other cases. 

"Section 7. If any viewer shall neglect or refuse to perform any 
duty herein enjoined upon him, he shall pay for each such neglect or re- 
fusal the sum of three dollars, to be recovered by the party aggrieved as 
debts of a like amount are recoverable. 

"Approved — the eleventh day of March, one thousand eight hundred 
and forty-two. 

WARSAW TOWNSHIP. 
pioneer history of the largest township in JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

Warsaw, the fifteenth township, organized in 1S42, was taken from 
Pine Creek and Snyder townships, and named by the people after a city 
of Poland, and lately the metropolis of that country, in the palatinate of 
Masovia. Taxables in 1842, 77. 

Before the white man came to settle in this county a part of Warsaw 
was "a barren" and thickly settled with Indians, and what is now called 
Seneca Hill, on the INI. Hoffman farm, is where they met for their orgies. 
They had a graveyard on the Temple place, and S. W. Temple has found 
a number of curious Indian relics from time to time since he lived 
there. 

The pioneer settlers in what is now Warsaw township were John, 
Jacob, and Peter \astbinder. They settled on farms in 1S02. 

" John Dixon settled in what is now Warsaw about the year 1S03, on 
the farm now owned by C. H. Shobert. The venerable John Dixon, of 

490 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Polk township, a son of the above pioneer, relates some of the incidents 
of those early days. He remembers when coffee was seventy-five cents 
and tea four dollars a pound, and salt ten dollars a barrel. His father 
on one occasion walked to Indiana, where he bought a bushel of salt, for 
which he paid four dollars. He carried it home on his back, and then 
found that he had been cheated in the measurement, as it lacked con- 
siderably of a bushel. The family subsisted chiefly on wild game, deer, 
bears, and wild turkeys being abundant. Their corn was ground on 
hand-mills, or else taken to Blacklick, in Indiana County, until Joseph 
Barnett erected his little mill at Port Barnett." 

Mr. Dixon was the pioneer school-teacher in Jefferson County, and 
was an exemplary citizen. He died in 1834, aged about seventy-six 
years. Mrs. Dixon, nee Sarah Ann Armstrong, died in i860, aged about 
ninety-two years. In 1825, Joshua Vandevort located at the place where 
Mayville, otherwise Bootjack, now stands, the pioneer settler in what 
is now Bootjack. In 1834, Thomas McCormick, Myron Gibbs, and 
Milton Johnson, Esq., settled on farms about two miles from \'andevort's. 
In 1835, Elihu Clark, Isaac Temple, and Andrew McCormick moved into 
that neighborhood, which afterwards became Warsaw. Mrs. Chloe 
Johnson died, and was the first interment in the burying-ground near 
Isaac Temple's residence. 

The pioneer settlement near RichardsviUe was made by James Moor- 
head, who built a house on the farm now owned by the heirs of Jackson 
Moorhead in 1S35, but he did not move his family there until the spring 
of 1836. John Wakefield built a house and moved his family on the 
farm now owned by Joseph McCracken in 1836, but returned to Indiana 
to spend the following winter. William Humphrey built a house on the 
farm now owned by his son, Samuel M. Humphrey, in the fall of 1S36, 
and moved his family there in April, 1837. Michael Long built a cabin 
on the farm now owned by Matthew Humphrey in 1836, and occupied it 
for a short time. Isaac Walker built a house the same year on the farm 
now owned by Thomas Brownlee, to which he moved his family the next 
spring. Matthew Humphrey commenced operations on the farm on 
which he still resides in 1837. He is the only one of the original settlers 
of West Warsaw remaining. He says when he came to the township 
there were no roads, only a trail leading through the woods to ' ' Boot- 
jack. " (Hazen.) 

William Russell, father of "Indian" George Russell, the hunter, 
settled in what is now Warsaw in 1834, and built a saw-mill on the 
North Fork. This was the pioneer saw-mill. 

In I S3 7, William R. Richards located on the north fork of Red Bank 
Creek, six miles from Brookville, built a saw- mill, woollen- factory, and 
grist-mill, and called the place RichardsviUe. He had cleared a farm in 
Snyder township the year before, which he left in care of Alex. Hutch- 

491 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

inson. Daniel (laup and Thomas McCormick settled on farms this year 
also. In 1837, David McCormick, Moses B. St. John, John Wilson, 
and William Perrin settled on farms. In 1838, John Bell, Peter Ricord, 
and Nelson Riggs also located there. 

The pioneer graveyard was in the pine grove at A'astbinder's, the 
second at Temple's. Warsaw is now the largest township in the county. 
The country is very hilly and much broken, though few of the hills rise 
more than four hundred feet above the level of the larger streams. Some 
bituminous coal of good quality is found in the hills, lying in veins of 
three feet above the water-level ; it is therefore very accessible for 
mining. Fire-clay has a place among these coal-measures, and ought to 
be utilized. Various kinds of iron-ores are abundant, and white and 
blue sandstones suitable for building purposes may readily be found in 
many places. Limestone in very large deposits is found in many localities. 
The soil is moderately fertile, and will amply reward the careful culti- 
vator for his well-directed efforts. For some reason, a large extent of 
the township was called by the early settlers "The Barrens." The hills, 
as well as the vales between them, were formerly covered by a dense and 
heavy growth of timber-trees of various kinds. Pine and hemlock pre- 
dominated. Chestnut and oak grew in some localities. Birch, sugar- 
maple, ash, and hickory occupied a wide range. Birch- and cherry-trees 
were numerous, and linwood-, cucumber-, and poplar-trees grew on many 
of the hill-sides. Butternut and sycamore, black ash and elms, grew on 
the low grounds. 

The pioneer grist-mill was built on Mill Creek by E. Holben. The 
pioneer hotel-keeper was Isaac Temple. The pioneer merchant was 
Solomon Wyant, in Dogtown, or at what is now John Fox's hotel. 

The act of the Legislature No. no, regulating election districts, 
approved July 11, 1842, established the polling-place for Warsaw town- 
ship as follows : 

"Section 26. That the township of Warsaw, in the county of Jef- 
ferson, be and the same is hereby erected into a separate election district, 
and that the general as well as the township elections shall be held at 
the house of William Weeks in said township." 

In the forties, Peter Ricord, Sr., and his son Peter erected on their 
farm in what was then called "Jericho," and now Warsaw Post-Ofifice, a 
frame grist-mill structure thirty by thirty feet. This mill had one run of 
stones, and the motive power was one yoke of oxen. I cannot describe it. 
The capacity was about thirty bushels of corn or grain a day. Ephraim 
Bushly was the millwright; Peter Ricord, Jr., the miller. The scheme 
not proving a financial success, the running gear was removed in a few 
years, and the building utilized as a barn by the Ricords, and afterwards 
by John A. Fox. 

The pioneer election held in Warsaw township for local offices was 

492 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in 1843, ^i^*^ the following-named persons were elected, — viz. : Judge of 
Election, John Moorhead ; Inspectors, Thomas McCormick, Peter Cham- 
berlin ; Supervisors, ^Villiam Weeks, James K. Huffman ; School Directors, 
O. P. Mather, Ira Bronson, G. D. Frederick, Arad Pearsall, James A. 
Wilkins, Peter Chamberlin ; Constable, David C. Riggs ; Assessors, An- 
drew McCormick, Jacob Moore, Eli B. Irvin ; Auditors, John Pearsall, 
Thomas McCormick, Finley McCormick ; Poor Overseers, Jacob Vast- 
binder, William Richards ; Town Clerk, Ira Bronson. 

PARADISE TOWNSHIP— A DEAD TOWNSHIP. 

It appears on the records of the county that prior to or about the 
year 1839 a township was organized and known from 1S39 until 1842 as 
Paradise township. From the names embraced in the officers elected in 
this township the territory must have taken all of what is now Gaskill, 
Bell, Henderson, McCalmont, and part of Winslow. The township dis- 
appears from the records of the county as mysteriously as it appears. 

Pioneer election in Paradise township in the year 1839: Assessor, 
David Barnett ; Judge of Election, John Pifer ; Inspectors of l^lection. 
Peter Deemer, John Rhoads. 

Second election, 1840, Paradise township: Judge of Election, John 
Rhoads ; Inspectors of Election, John Deemer, Henry Philipi. 

Third election, 1842: Constable, James Dickey; Supervisors, John 
Pifer, Henry Miller; Auditors, Henry Philipi, Thomas Thompson, 
Philip Bowers ; Town Clerk, Henry Miller ; School Directors, Henry 
Miller, Thomas Kerr; Overseers of the Poor, Andrew McCreight, An- 
drew Bowers ; Assessor, David Harvey ; Judge of Election, John Pifer ; 
Inspectors of Election, George Pifer, George Smith. 

PIONEER CENSUS, 1840. 

The following is the population of Jefferson County by the several 
censuses taken since 1810 : in 1810, 161 ; in 1820, 561 ; in 1830, 2025 ; 
and in 1840, 7253, as follows: 

Brookville 276 

Washington 367 

Ridgway 195 

Tionesta 27 

Jenks 20 

Porter 977 

Young 1321 

Rose 1421 

Snyder 291 

Eldred 395 

Barnett 259 

Pine Creek 628 

Perry 1076 

Total 7253 

493 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



\D — -• 



i-( ro 1- 



> 

r 


^ r 






a. 









>^ r: r: 
:^ 5 3 



494 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Since 1840, Ridgway and part of Snyder townships were taken to 
Elk County. Clover township was taken from Rose ; Union from Rose 
and Eldred ; Heath from Barnett ; Warsaw from Pine Creek, Washing- 
ton, and Snyder ; Gaskill from Young ; Winslow from Gaskill, Wash- 
ington, and Pine Creek. Punxsutawney is erected into a borough. Its 
census is separate from Young township. Porter is divided. 

The accompanying tables show the number of horses, cattle, etc., 
amount of grain raised, value of home-made woollens and linens and 
lumber produced, and the number of grist- and saw-mills in the several 
townships of Jefferson County at this period. 

Value of Home-made Value of Lumber 
Woollens and Linens. 

Brookville ... 

Rose S22S3 

Washington .... 497 

Snyder ... 

Ridgway ... 

Eldred 450 

Tionesta ... 

Barnett 104 

Jenks . 

Pine Creek 653 

Porter 12S1 

Perry 1 771 

Young 1334 

Total $8363 $50,603 14 68 

In 1839 there were six tanneries, that tanned five hundred and twenty 
sides of sole leather and eight hundred and five of upper leather. In 
these six tanneries seven hands were employed. 

In the produce of lumber three hundred and fifty-three hands were 
employed. 

In 1840, Rose township took the lead in population, and in every- 
thing else except swine and sugar. 

Perry took the lead in swine. 

Washington was the sweetest, and Snyder next, for they made the 
most sugar; but we have only to remember the name, for both townships 
were called after good and great men. 

The total value of skins and furs, S1029 ; number of stores in county, 
19, — viz., Brookville, 8 : Rose, 2 ; Snyder, i : Ridgway, i ; Porter, i ; 
Perry, 2 ; Young, 4. 

Bituminous coal used : Brookville, 2000 bushels, Cliarles Anderson, 
miner; Rose township, number of bushels used, 500. The second miner, 
and in Rose, was Isaac Hallam ; two miners in the county and 2500 
bushels of coal used. 

495 



roduced. 


^ Grist-Mills. 


Saw-Mills 


33,450 




I 


15,732 




17 


410 




I 


1,550 




3 


4,720 




7 


1,155 






500 




I 


6,310 




9 


85 




I 


4,140 




8 


3,700 




2 


826 


2 


4 


8,025 


3 


14 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

BROOKVILLE BOROUGH. 

This borough, the seat of justice of Jefferson County, commenced its 
first building in June of 1830. After the lots were sold, it being then in 
Rose township, its citizens voted with the township until 1S4S, when it 




/^uA/r^ f'O/fr 






CH£^Tf</UT At-iy 





>%^ 


hX*,,!, 


sr 


tt,''. 




.f. 


vof^ 


' 


z 


3 


^ 


-J 5 



9 


8 


/o 


/f 




eurteK ALLy, 



OCJ ^ Off ■ s 



was set apart as a distinct polling place by act of the Legislature No. 2S5, 
regulating election districts, and for other purposes, approved the 7th 
day of April, ad. 1848. 

Brookville was named for, or on account of, the springs or brooks on 
its hill-sides,— springs which here to all in these continuous woods did 

496 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

freely flow unbought. Brook, with the French " ville," or Latin " villa," 
a country-seat, in common English, a town ; these put together formed 
the name. The population by the census of 1840 was 276. 

Brookville was incorporated as a borough on April 9, 1834 (see 
l^amphlet laws of that year, page 209). The pioneer election for the new 
borough, for borough officials, was in the spring of 1835. Joseph 
Sharpe was elected constable, and Alexander McKnight, my father, was 
elected school director. 

" xAn Act (of April,, 1834) to erect Brookville, Armagh, Shrews- 
bury, AND Greenfield into Boroughs, and to alter the Act 
incorporating the Borough of Meadville. 

"Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That the town of Brookville, in the 
county of Jefferson, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into, a 
borough, which shall be called ' the borough of Brookville, in the county 
of Jefferson,' bounded and limited as follows, — viz. : Beginning at the 
southwest corner of lot number twenty-two in said town, near or adjoining 
Hunt's Point; thence due north along the marked line of said town to a 
post on the north side of Butler's Alley ; thence along the north side of 
said alley to its extremity \ thence by a continued east line to the north- 
east corner of the mill lot ; thence south three degrees, east eighty-four 
perches, to a red oak ; thence south eighteen perches to a post ; thence 
south ten degrees, west seventeen perches, to a white pine ; thence south 
tu-enty- four degrees, west fifty- nine perches, to a post ; thence west twenty 
I^erches to the west side of Sandy Lick Creek at high-water mark ; thence 
up said creek, following the several courses thereof, to a point east of and 
opposite the mouth of the south end of Rose Alley, being the extremity 
of the outlots ; thence east to a maple opposite the south end of Picker- 
ing Street ; thence north to the northeast corner of '\^'ater and Pickering 
Streets ; thence along the south side of A\'ater Street to the northeast 
corner of lot number twenty-two aforesaid ; thence around the lines of 
said lot to the place of beginning. 

"Section 2. It shall and maybe lawful for all persons entitled to 
vote for members of the Legislature, who have resided in said borough 
twelve months immediately previous to such election, to meet at the 
court-house in said borough (or at such other place as may hereafter be 
appointed) on the second Monday in May in every year, and then and 
there elect by ballot, between the hours of twelve and six o'clock of the 
same day, one reputable citizen residing in said borough, who shall be 
styled the burgess of said borough, and five reputable citizens residing in 
said borough, who shall be a town council, and shall also elect one rep- 
utable citizen as town constable : but previous to such election the in- 
habitants shall elect two reputable citizens as judges, one inspector, and 
two clerks of said election, which shall be regulated and conducted ac- 

497 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

cording to the general election laws of this Commonwealth, so far as re- 
lates to receiving and counting votes, and who shall be subject to the 
same penalties for malpractices as by the said laws are imposed. And 
the said judges, inspector, and clerks respectively, before they enter upon 
the duties of their respective offices, shall take an oath or affirmation 
before any justice of the peace of said county to perform the same with 
fidelity ; and after the said election shall be closed shall declare the per- 
sons having the greatest number of votes to be duly elected ; and in case 
any two or more candidates shall have an equal number of votes, the 
preference shall be determined by lot, to be drawn by the judges and in- 
spector ; whereupon duplicate returns thereof shall be signed by the said 
judges, one of which shall be transmitted to each of the persons elected, 
and the other filed among the records of the corporation. And in case 
of death, resignation, removal, or refusal to accept, or neglect or refusal 
to act after acceptance, of any of the said officers, the burgess, or in case 
of his death, absence, or inability to act, or when he neglects or refuses 
to act, the first named of the town council shall issue his precept, directed 
to the high constable, or when there is no high constable, or when he 
refuses or neglects to act, then any of the members of the town council 
shall advertise and hold an election in manner aforesaid to supply such 
vacancy, giving at least ten days' notice thereof by advertisements set up 
at four of the most public places in the said borough. 

" Section 3. From and after the passage of this act the burgess and 
town council, duly elected as aforesaid, and their successors, shall be one 
body politic and corporate, in law, by the name and style of ' The Bur- 
gess and Town Council of the Borough of Brookville, in the County of 
Jefferson,' and shall have perpetual succession ; and the said burgess and 
town council aforesaid, and their successors, shall be capable in law to 
receive, hold, and possess goods and chattels, lands and tenements, rents, 
liberties, jurisdictions, franchises, and hereditaments, to them and their 
successors, in fee-simple, or otherwise, not exceeding the yearly value 
of five thousand dollars, and also to give, grant, sell, let, and assign the 
same lands, tenements, hereditaments, and rents ; and by the name and 
style aforesaid they shall be capable in law to sue and be sued, plead 
and be impleaded, in any of the courts of law in this Commonwealth or 
elsewhere, in all manner of actions whatsoever, and to have and use one 
common seal, and the same from time to time at their will to change and 
alter." 

The first complete set of borough officers was elected under this law 
and the act of the 23d of February, 1835, hereafter referred to. This 
first election was in the spring of 1837, and those elected were as follows : 
Burgess, Thomas Lucas ; Council, John Dougherty, James Corbett, John 
Pierce, Samuel Craig, ^Vm. A. Sloan ; Constable, John McLaughlin. 

498 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

This man McLaughlin was a great hunter, and could neither read nor 
write ; he moved to Brockwayville, and from there went West. 

By an act of Assembly passed April 2, 1830, it was provided that 
from and after the ist day of October, thereafter, the inhabitants of Jef- 
ferson County should "enjoy all and singular the jurisdiction, powers, 
rights, liberties, and privileges whatsoever within the same which the 
inhabitants of other counties of this State do, may, or ought to enjoy, 
by the law and Constitution of this Commonwealth." 

Our first president judge, Thomas Burnside, was born in the county of 
Tyrone, Ireland, July 28, 1782, and resided in Bellefonte, Centre County. 
His father, William Burnside, with his family, emigrated to Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 1792. In 1800, Thomas commenced to read law with 
Hon. Robert Porter, and on the 13th day of February. 1804, he was 
admitted to the I'hiladelphia bar. In the month of March of that year 
Thomas moved to, and settled in, Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsyl- 
vania. In 181 1 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1815 he was 
sent to Congress. In 1816 he was appointed a president judge. In 1823 
he was again elected a State Senator and was made Speaker. In 1826 
he was again appointed a president judge. In 1854 he was commissioned 
a judge for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. 

In stature. Judge Burnside was of medium height, dark complexioned, 
and very homely. He was a learned lawyer, an able jurist, and a kind, 
blunt, honest, open-hearted gentleman. 

Many of the details of the history of Brookville are given in frag- 
ments throughout this general history. The place was laid out in 1830 
as the county seat, and in June of that year the lots were sold, the price 
ranging from thirty to three hundred dollars. In 1831 a traveller speaks 
of it as a "shanty town," and doubts that the population might amount 
to fifty. In 1840 the inhabitants numbered two hundred and seventy-six. 
and there were sixty dwellings and stores. F"rom an early history, in 
speaking of Jefferson County, and especially of Brookville, we quote the 
following: "The scenery around this town would be fine were it not 
that all the hills, excej^t on the north side, are still clothed by the original 
forest of pines, being held by distant proprietors, who neither sell nor 
improve. Its situation is on the Waterford and Susquehanna Turnpike, 
forty- four miles east of Franklin, and immediately at the head of Red 
Bank Creek, which is here formed by the confluence of two branches. 
The great State road, called the Glean road, between Kittanning and 
Olean, passes through the county about seven miles west of Brookville. 
North of the turnpike, however, the road has been suffered to be closed 
by obstructions, and is not now used." Another writer says "that 
Meade's trail from Port Barnett crossed the creek five times." Still 
another says, " This hole can never become a place of any importance, 
the county seat must be removed to Punxsutawney or Port Barnett." 

499 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"A few straggling Indians occasionally called at the village, reminding 
one of former scenes." " Times are slow," says another; " our lumber 
at the creek will not bring more than three or four dollars." They had 
hard times in the past, and times that made the county seat what it is, — 
a commercial centre, a centre of religion and morals, a place for culture 
in literature and music, which for its age will compare with learned 
Boston. The population to-day is about three thousand. 

PIONEERS AND PIONEER EVENTS IN BROOKVILLE. 

" The deeds of our fathers in times that are gone, 
Their virtues, their prowess, the toils they endured." 

The pioneer settler to locate where Brookville is was Moses Knapp. 
The pioneer to locate in the county seat was John Eason, father of Rev. 
David Eason. He bought the lot on the corner of Main Street and 
Spring Alley, and erected the pioneer house in the county seat, — viz., in 
August, 18.30, and opened it for a tavern. Mr. Eason died in 1835. In 
1 83 1, William Robinson lived in a little log house on the corner of Mill 
and Water Streets. This log house and log stable had been built by 
Moses Knapp in 1806. The next person to locate was perhaps Thomas 
Hall. Benjamin McCreight was an early settler. Mr. McCreight was a 
tailor and carried on the business. He was an honorable and useful 
man, and held many responsible positions during his life here. John 
Dougherty attended the sale of lots, bought several, and in 1831 moved 
to Brookville. Thomas M. Barr came here in 1830. He was a stone- 
mason and bricklayer, and assisted to build up the town by taking con- 
tracts. The pioneer blacksmith was Jacob Riddleberger, in 1832-33. 
Wm. Clark, Sr. , came to Brookville in 1830, and erected a tavern on the 
northwest corner of Pickering and Jefferson Streets. In the fall of 1830, 
Jared B. Evans moved his store from Port Barnett to Brookville, and was 
appointed the pioneer postmaster for Brookville post-office. Brookville, 
by post-road, was one hundred and sixty-five miles northwest of Harris- 
burg, Pennsylvania, and two hundred and thirty-eight miles northwest of 
Washington, I). C. Mr. Evans's was the pioneer store. The second 
store was opened three days later by Major William Rodgers. Thomas 
Hastings located in 183 1, and built the Jefferson Tavern. Robert P. 
Barr came in 1830. He was a useful and public-spirited man. He built 
the saw-mill and flouring-mill on the North Fork. Joseph Sharpe was 
the first shoemaker and the first constable. He lived on the lot now 
occupied by the National Bank of Brookville. 

William Jack came to Brookville in 1831, and was sent to Congress 
from this district. Richard Arthurs, Esq., located here in 1831 or there- 
abouts. Cyrus Butler in 1830-31. James Corbett in 1830. Alexander 
McKnight located in Brookville in 1S32. He taught the first term of 

500 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

school in the first school building, was the first school director elected 
for the new borough, held the office of justice of the peace, lieutenant- 
colonel in the militia, had served a year as private in the regular army 
of the United States, and was county treasurer when he died, in 1837, 
aged twenty-seven years. 

Samuel Craig located in Brookville in 1832, Hugh Brady, Esq., in 
1832, and John Ramsey, the pioneer wagon-maker, in 1834. Hugh 
Brady and family came from Indiana, Pennsylvania, in a Conestoga 
wagon drawn by four horses, — the lead horses having bells on. That 
was the wagon of that period. (See illustration.) There was no bridge 
across the North Fork. They came via Port Barnett. John Showalter 
located here in 1843. ^^e lived in Snyder's Row, was a gunsmith, 
and had a confectionery. James R. Fullerton located in Brookville in 
1S33. The pioneer gunsmith was Isaac Mills. He located where Thomas 
L. Templeton now resides. The pioneer doctor was Alvah Evans ; 
he came in September, 1831. He was a young, handsome, portly man. 
He remained four or five months and left. Where he came from or 
where he went to nobody knows. The second doctor was C. G. M. 
Prime. He came in the spring of 1S32. Dr. Prime amputated the arm 
of Henry (Hance) Yastbinder. During his residence here he married 
a Miss Wagley. He was a hard drinker. He left here April 3, 1835, 
for Mississippi, where he was shot and killed at a card-table. He 
became a lawyer while here, delivered political speeches and Fourth of 
July orations. 

The pioneer merchant to sell drugs and medicines in Brookville was 
Major William Rogers, in 1S31. He sold Dover's powder. Hooper's 
pills, mercurial ointment, wine, brandy, whiskey, quinine, etc. 

The pioneer fire-engine was bought June 29, 1S39. Cost, two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. It was a hand-engine. This same year it was 
resolved by the council that " the timber standing or lying on the streets 
and alleys be sold for the use of said borough." The first volunteer fire 
company in the United States was at Philadelphia, i 736. 

The pioneer saddle and harness manufactory in Brookville was opened 
by John Brownlee, on May 8, 1834, in the rear of his lot facing Mill 
Street, and opposite D. E. Breneman's residence. 

McDonald started the pioneer cabinet and furniture factory in 

1831-32. 

The pioneer foundry was started by a man named Coleman, in 1841. 
It was located where the Fetzer building now is. 

The pioneer grist-mill was built by Moses Knapp. 

The pioneer saw-mill was built by Moses Knapp. 

The pioneer borough election was in 1835. 

John J. Y. Thompson settled in Brookville in 1831, Andrew Craig in 
1838, Robert Darrah in 1837, Arad Pearsall in 1833, Samuel C. Espy in 

501 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

1842, Hon. Philip Taylor in 1841, Jolin Ciallagher in tlie early thirties, 
William Farley in 1843. Isaac Allen was an early settler. 

The pioneer silversmith and watch- and clock- maker was Andrew 
Straub, in 1833-34. Watches were then assessed as property. 

The pioneer graveyard was on lands now owned by W. C. P>ans, on 
Litch's Hill. The second one is now called the " old graveyard." 

The pioneer dentists were Dr. A. M. Hills and T. M. Van Valzah. 
These were travelling dentists, and came here periodically. The first 
dentist to locate was William J. Chandler. 

In 1832, Peter Sutton built and kept a tavern on the corner of 
Taylor Street, across the North Fork, now Litchtown. In 1832 or 1833 
there was a frame tavern adjoining the Franklin Tavern. It was kept 
for a number of years by a man named Craig, Mrs. Wagley, and 
others. 

The pioneer tannery was built in 1831 by David Henry, on the lot 
now occupied by the United Presbyterian church. As late as 1843 ^ 
great gully crossed Main Street, carrying the water from this institution 
over and through the lot now occupied by that model institution of the 
town, the National Bank of Brookville. 

Miss Julia Clark opened the pioneer millinery and mantua making 
business in Brookville. Prices: bonnets, leghorn, $5; silk, $2.50; 
gimp, 51.50; straw, $1. In her advertisement she says, "She can be 
seen at her residence, four doors east of E. Heath's store, on Main 
Street. Persons, so wishing, can be supplied by her with ladies' leghorn 
hats, flats and crown, from No. 32 to 42 ; ladies' Tuscan and French 
gimp ; Italian braid hats ; Leghorn braid, Tuscan and Italian edge. 
Misses' gimp hats, Tuscan ; French gimp by the piece. She hopes, by 
giving her undivided attention to the above business, to merit a share of 
public patronage. Brookville, July 13th, 1834." 

The pioneer tinner was Samuel Truby. He came from Indiana, 
Pennsylvania, arriving here on January i, 1S34. The last thirteen miles 
of the journey was through a dense forest, without house or clearing. 
They stopped at John F^ason's tavern, and as soon as possible he com- 
menced to cut down the trees on and clear his lot, corner of Jefferson 
and Pickering Streets, preparatory to building a house, a contract for the 
building of which was taken by the late R. Arthurs, he agreeing to fur- 
nish all the material and finish it as specified by April i for the sum of 
forty dollars, which was paid in silver quarters. The house was sixteen 
feet square and one and a half stories high. 

Hon. Thomas Hastings came in May, 183 1. " Nearly all of what is 
now the principal part of the town — Main Street and Jefferson Street — 
was then a forest. Only three houses had yet been built, — the Red Lion 
Hotel, where Cregg's barber-shop now is, the hotel now occupied by 
P. J. Allgeier, and another hotel, which stood where J. M. White's 

5^2 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dwelling now stands. Besides these houses just built, a little log house 
stood down by the North Fork Creek. Such was Brookville in May, 
1 83 1, sixty-seven years ago. There was not a street opened, and the 
turnpike ran in a straight line from Allgeier's hotel to Dr. Hunt's resi- 
dence." 

There is one person (John Butler) still living in Brookville who has 
seen a slave that was owned in Brookville whipped with a blacksnake 
whip on Pickering Street, between Joseph Darr's residence and where 
the Methodist Episcopal church now stands. 

In 1835, Brookville contained about one hundred and thirty- five 
people. The village had six merchants, — viz., Evans t\: Clover, William 
Rodgers, James Corbett, Jared B. Evans, Jack t\: Wise, and Steadman e\: 
Watson. Each storekeeper had a large dry pine block, called " upping 
block," in front of his store room, to assist men and women to mount or 
alight from their horses. The stores were lighted with candles and 
warmed with wood-fires. Wood-fires in stoves and chimneys were very 
dangerous, on account of the accumulation of wood-soot in the chimney; 
for when this soot gathered in quantity it always ignited, burned out, and 
endangered the shingle roof. Towns and cities then had men and boys 
called professional "chimney-sweeps." These "sweeps" entered the 
chimney from the fireplace, climbing up and out at the top by the aid 
of hooks, announcing their exit in a song and looking as black as an 
African negro. In 1835 some of the legal privileges of the town were: 
" That no citizen of the town shall be permitted to keep on Main Street, 
at one time, more than ten cords of wood, not more than enough brick 
to build a chimney, or before his door more lumber than will build a 
spring-house ; not more than two wagons and a half- sled ; a (ew barrels 
of salt, five thousand shingles, or twenty head of horned cattle." Of 
course, there was no legal restriction as to the number of "chickens in 
the garden" or geese and hogs on the street. On dark nights the people 
then carried lanterns made of tin, holes being punched in them, and the 
light produced by a candle. The lantern had a side door to open, to 
light, blow out, and replace the candle. 

" MAIL ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES. 

' ' The Mail arrives from Philadelphia by way of Harrisburg, Lewis- 
town, and Bellefonte every Monday evening, Wednesday evening, and 
Friday evening in a four Horse Coach. 

"From Erie, by way of Meadville, Franklin, &c., every Monday, 
Wednesday, and Friday evenings, and returns the same day. in a four 
Horse Stage. 

"From Washington City, by way of Chambersburgh, Indiana, c\:c., 
every Friday and returns same day — carried on a Horse. 

503 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" From Pittsburg by way of Kittanning every Friday, and returns on 
Tuesday — carried on a Horse. 

"Arrive at this place every Tuesday, from Smethport, McKean 
county by way of Gillis Post-office, and returns on Friday — carried on a 
Horse." — Republican, Brookville, January, 1S35. 




EARLY SCHOOLS PIONEER ACT AUTHORIZING r.ROOKVlLLE TO ELECT 

SCHOOL DIRECTORS — PIONEER ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND PIONEER 
MASTERS. 

The act of the Legislature No. 109, approved April 4, 1837, author- 
ized the election of school directors. Section 7 and 8 read as follows : 

" Section 7. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by authority of the same, That the citizens of the bor- 
ough of Brookville, in the county of Jefferson, be and are hereby author- 
ized to meet at the usual place of holding borough elections, on the first 
Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
seven, and afterwards annually, at the time of holding their borough elec- 
tions, and elect six school directors, in the manner provided for the 
election of school directors by law. 

" Section 8. And that all moneys now in the treasury of Rose town- 
ship school district, assessed on the citizens of the borough aforesaid, shall 

504 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

be paid to the use and for the support of schools in said borough, that 
now are, or that may be hereafter, organized under the provisions of the 
act aforesaid. 

"Approved — the fourth day of April, a.d. one thousand eight hun- 
dred and thirty seven." 

The following notice of pioneer election for directors appeared in the 
Brookvillc Republican, Thursday, September 7, 1837: 

" Saturday next, at three o'clock in the afternoon, is the time agreed 
upon by the citizens of Brookville for holding an election to elect six 
school directors for this borough. It is important that every friend of 
education, and we hope we have no citizen who would oppose it, should 
be in attendance and give his vote for delegates, in order to give weight 
to the proceedings. We repeat that we hope there will be a unanimous 
attendance of the citizens at said election." 

On September 9, 1S37, the people elected the following school direc- 
tors : Levi G. Clover, Samuel Craig, David Henry, C. A. Alexander, 
William A. Sloan, James Corbett. 

The pioneer school-house in the town was built in 1S32. It was a 
small one-storied brick building. Major William Rodgers says, about 
twenty feet square. It stood near the northwest corner of the present 
location of the county jail. The building was erected under the pro- 
visions of the law of 1809, and was paid for by voluntary subscriptions. 
Alexander McKnight taught the pioneer term of school in it in 1832-33. 
Anticipating the want of a stove for the contemplated building, Major 
William Rodgers, then one of the business men of the new town, wrote 
the following "subscription-paper" and collected the money on it. The 
money was invested in what was then called a "ten-plate stove," so 
called because it was formed of ten pieces or "plates of metal." The 
fuel used in it was wood. 

" We, the undersigned subscribers, do severally promise to pay the 
sums set to our names, on demand, to the trustees of the Brookville 
school, to be applied to the purchase of a stove for the use of the school- 
house in Brookville. Witness our hands, the i8th day of February, 1S32 : 

" SUHSCRIIiERS' NAMES. 

William Clark $0.50 

Joseph Clements 5° 

Elijah Heath I.OO 

Isaac Mills 50 

Thomas Robinson 5° 

Thomas Barr 25 

Joseph McCuIlough 50 

James Hall .25 

33 505 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



James Corbett . . 
Aaron Fuller . . . 
David Henry . . . 
Thomas Hall . . . 
Joseph Sharp . . . 
Andrew Vastbinder 
Fr. Heterick . . . 
Thomas Lucas . . 
Thomas Hastings . 
C. J. Dunham . . 
William Kelso . . 
William Rodgers . 
W. McCullough . 
Sloan .... 



Total 



50 

25 
25 
50 
25 
25 
50 
50 
50 
50 
25 
25 
25 
25 
§9.00' 



As happens nowadays, a few of these subscriptions were not paid. 

In the memories of some of our oldest citizens now ckister recollec- 
tions of this little old brick school house and the ten-plate stove thus 
purchased to warm it. About that little school-house were formed many 
ties which bound men and women together as friends in long succeeding 
years. Around that little temple of learning I have seen 

" The hoop, the bow and arrow, 

The soaring of the kite and swing, 
The humming of the ' over-ball,' 

And the marbles in the ring; 
The sleds, the rope, and sliding-boards, 

The races down the yard, 
And the war of snow-ball armies. 

The victors and the scarred." 



In this little brick house the Methodists for years held their weekly 
prayer-meetings. The principal members were Judge Heath, Arad Pear- 
sail, John Dixon, John Heath, David and Cyrus Butler, David Henry 
and wife, and Mary, Jane, and Sarah Gaston. 

The pioneer Sunday-school teacher in Brookville was Cyrus Butler. 
Professor Blose and Miss Kate Scott both err in saying that Cyrus Butler 
taught the first or pioneer school in the old jail in Brookville in 1830. 
The old jail was not built until 1831, and Cyrus Butler never taught any 
school or class in this county but in the Sunday-school. 

School-masters who taught in ISrookville subscription schools under 
the law of 1 809 : 

i8j2-jj. — Alexander McKnight, pioneer. 

i8j4. — Miss Charlotte Clark, Charles E. Tucker. 

jSj^. — John Wilson. 

iSj6. — Hannibal Craighead. 

506 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENXA. 

Masters who taught under the common school law of 1834 : 
^^37- — Cyrus Crouch, pioneer, had sixty scholars in a house where 
the United Presbyterian church now stands. 

1838. — Rev. Dexter Morris, a Baptist preacher. 
183Q. — John Smith. 




Pioneer academy. 

1840.—^. M. Bell, Mrs. M. T. H. Roundy. 

1841. — D. S. Deering. 

All or nearly all of the above masters taught in the little brick school- 
house that was built on the back of the lot where the jail now stands. 

1842. — R. J. Nicholson, Miss Elizabeth Brady, first to teach in the 
academy building. 

1843. — ^- J- Nicholson, Miss Nancy Lucas. 

PIONEER SCHOOL DIRECTORS. 

The following is a list of the pioneer and early school directors for 
the borough of Brookville, Pennsylvania, from 1S34 to 1S05 : 

Jiose Toivnship. 
1834. — Colonel Alexander McKnight, James Green, Robert .Andrews, 
Irwin Robinson, Darius Carrier. 

1833. — Darius Carrier, Colonel Alexander McKnight. 

507 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Brookville BorotigJi. 

iSj/. — General I.. S. Clover, C. A. Alexander, David Henry, Samuel 
Craig, William A. Sloan, James Corbett. 

i8jg. — Cyrus Butler, John Dougherty, Robert P. Barr. 

1840. — John M. McCoy, Robert P. Barr. 

1841. — John Smith, Esq., Samuel B. Bishop. 

1842. — D. B. Jenks, Esq., J. G. Clark, Esq., Hugh Brady, Esq. 

184J. — George Irwin, John Dougherty. 

1844. — Samuel B. Bishop, C. A. Alexander, Thomas Wilkins, L. B. 
Dunham. 

184s. — Dr. James Dowling, David S. Deering, Thomas M. Barr, 
Hon. J. B. Evans. 

Fifty years ago spelling contests in schools were common, regularly 
every Saturday afternoon, and sometimes a neighborhood had rival 
school contests at night. It was one of the backwoods amusements, and 
a useful one, too. It was conducted in this wise : Two of the best spell- 
ers were chosen captains, these would alternately select other spellers, and 
form their followers on opposite sides, sitting or standing. The school- 
master would give out the words from a book agreed upon, or sometimes 
at his option. When a scholar missed a word he vacated his place ; this 
plan was pursued until but one scholar remained of either side. Then his 
side was declared victorious and the best speller was a hero. A spelling 
craze passed over the United States in 1875, and Brookville caught the 
fever and had a contest, — viz. : 

"spelling-bee" in brookville. 

The following account of a spelling-bee in Brookville is taken from 
an issue of \he/effersonia/i published in the fall of 1875. Its perusal will 
doubtless call up in the minds of many the incidents of the evening. It 
will be remembered how "Schuylkill" seated E. Heath Clark, and 
" inter-nos" settled Dr. Sweeney: 

"The first spelling-match in Brookville came off on Thursday even- 
ing last. The original intention was to hold it in the room of the musi- 
cal society, but it was found there would not be room there for the crowd, 
when the court-room was secured. The attendance was large, and the in- 
terest taken in it by both contestants and spectators was marked. The cap- 
tains were William Dickey and David Eason, Esqs. Each side numbered 
twenty, and among the spellers were found lawyers, doctors, school- 
teachers, etc. The difficult task of pronouncing was assigned to Hon. 
George A. Jenks, who probably discharged his duty as satisfactorily to 
all parties as any one could have done. After the arrangements neces- 
sary had been made, the spelling commenced, and was continued for one 
hour, when it was found that Captain Eason's side had missed thirty-one 

508 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

words, while Captain Dickey's side had missed thirty-two words. On 
Eason's side there were seven who had not missed a word, and on 
Dickey's side four. Between these eleven commenced the contest for 
the prize, — Macaulay's 'History of England,' in five volumes. In a 
short time but one speller was up on Eason's side, and he our old friend, 
Dr. McKnight, while Rev. A. B. Fields and Mrs. T. E. Templeton on 
Dickey's side were arrayed against him. The word 'soiree,' however, 
was too much for the doctor, and he retired as gracefully as a French 
dancing-master. The contest now was between Mrs. Templeton and 
Mr. Fields, both of Dickey's side; but 'apropos' soon left Rev. Fields 
master of the field and the possessor of the prize. We were surprised to 
hear so few words missed, and, taken altogether, the spelling was much 
above the average." 

NoTE.^ — I should have been declared the victor in this match. After 
it became 2. personal contest, Mr. Fields went down on the word "guar- 
anty," and after we had spelled several rounds he was permitted to take 
his place again. Great sympathy existed in this community for Rev. 
Fields on account of his domestic troubles. The management of the 
class acted outrageously in their determination to favor the reverend. I 
spelled the word "soiree" in this way: "s-o-i-r-e," and before pro- 
nouncing the word corrected the spelling in the last syllable by saying 
" double-ee," but still I was ruled out, because they wished the reverend 
to have the prize. I made no objection. 

MINUTES OF THE PIONEER SESSION OF BROOKVILLE TOWN COUNCIL. 

" On the 19th day of July, 1834, the following officers having been 
duly elected, chosen, and sworn to serve the borough of Brookville, 
in Jefferson County, for the current year,— viz : Thomas Lucas, Esq., 
Burgess ; William Jack, James Corbett, John Eason, Robert Larrimer, 
Thomas Hastings, Town Council ; Cyrus G. M. Prime, Constable, met 
in session, when the following proceedings were had and done, — viz. : 

"On motion, William Jack was duly chosen president of the board. 
Hugh Brady was appointed clerk. Benjamin McCreight was appointed 
treasurer, with directions that he give bond to the borough with one or 
more sureties in the sum of three hundred dollars, and that his compen- 
sation be two and a half per cent, on all moneys received and paid over 
by him. Joseph Sharpe was appointed street commissioner, with a com- 
pensation of one dollar per diem, and that the compensation of the clerk 
be ten dollars per annum. 

"That James Corbett and Hugh Brady be appointed a committee to 
procure a seal for the said borough on the most reasonable terms, and that 
the device of said seal be ' The Seal of the Borough of Brookville. ' 

"That David Henry be appointed assessor ; that the rate per cent, be 

509 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

one-third percent, of the dollar for this year; that William Jack and 
James Corbett be appointed to assist the assessor in making a valuation ; 
and that the assessor be directed at the time of making his assessment to 
show his duplicate to the person assessed the amount of his or their 
assessment. On motion, council adjourned." 

" ordinance no. i. 

" An Ordinance to repair Main Street in the Borough of 

Brookville. 

" Be it ordained by the Town Council of the Borough of Brookville, in 
the County of Jefferson, and it is hereby ordaiiied by the authority of the 
same. That all the moneys about to be raised by the present assessment 
in said borough (except what may be needed for the payment of officers, 
procuring seal, books, and stationery for the use of the corporation) shall 
be paid over to the street commissioner, by orders drawn by the presi- 
dent of the council upon the treasurer, which said orders shall be coun- 
tersigned by the clerk, for the purpose of repairing and amending Main 
Street from the east side of Mill Street to the western boundary of said 
borough ; and that the said street commissioner is hereby authorized to 
proceed immediately, upon the receipt of any such moneys, to making 
the repairs as aforesaid, under the direction of the town council. 

" Ordained in council the 2d day of August, 1834. 

"Attest: Hugh Brady, 

' ' Secretary. ' ' 

In 1835 the burgess was Thomas Lucas. Council, William Jack, 
James Corbett, Jared B. Evans, Samuel Craig, Alexander McKnight. 

An act of July 11, a.d. 1842, " Regulating Election Districts and for 
other Purposes" : 

" Section 14. That the qualified voters of the borough of Brookville, 
in the county of Jefferson, shall annually hereafter, at the time and place 
of electing a high constable, town council, and other borough officers, 
elect two reputable citizens of said borough as constables, and return 
the names of the persons so elected to the next Court of Quarter Sessions 
of said county, agreeably to the provisions and regulations of the act of 
Assembly passed the third day of February, a.d. one thousand eight 
hundred and thirty-five, and shall also on the same day and place afore- 
said elect one reputable citizen of said borough as an assessor of all tax- 
able property in said borough, and that all county rates, and levies, and 
other taxes shall be levied according to the valuation of said assessor, 
and that so much of the act passed the fifteenth day of April, a.d. one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, entitled ' An Act relating to 
County Rates and Levies, and Township Rates and Levies,' as compels the 

510 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

assessors of said township with the commissioners to ascertain the real 
value of all property (made taxable by law) within the limits of said 
borough be and the same is hereby repealed." 

Under this act of 1842 the pioneer and separate assessment of Rrook- 
ville as a borough was made in 1844. 



EROOKVILLLE S HISTORIC SPRING INDIANS AND THEIR WHITE CAPTIVES — 

JI.M hunt's cave — THE OLD-TIME EMIGRANT. 

As early as 1755 there is authentic record that the Delaware Indians 
carried white captives over a trail through what is now Punxsutawney and 
Brookville to the Allegheny River and Lake Erie region. These Indians 
stopped overnight occasionally where Sandy Lick and the North Fork 
unite, eating their corn-meal and drinking from the spring. It was here 
that the fugitive Indian, Jim Hunt, had a hiding-place in an artificial 
cave. Jim was a fugitive from his tribe for murder, and when apprised 
by the whoops of his friends always hid in this cave. The water was 
too cool for Jim's stomach, hence he spent most of his time about Bar- 
nett's, where he could get " fire-water." The old State Road lay on the 
left of the pike coming from Port Barnett, and came down what is now 
Litch Hill, close by and near to this spring ; and for eighteen years the 
old-time emigrant, with his flint-lock gun, his dog, wagon, and family, 
always stopped at the foot of the hill, in a sly little nook of laurel blossoms, 
to quench his thirst with old rye and pearly, pure potations of water 
from this bubbling white-sand spring. 

In my early days Sunday-school picnics and occasionally a Fourth of 
July was celebrated here. To the people of Brookville it was a great 
resort during the hot days of summer. As a rule, everybody went over 
on Sabbath with a tin cup to refresh themselves. I clip the following 
from the pen of P)ion H. Butler : 

"It is at the foot of the hill just below Heidrick, Matson iS: Co.'s 
mill, and it has poured refreshing drinks down many times more throats 
than did ever Clover's or Tommy Wesley's still, which stood on the pike 
not far away. 

"The sand spring is a great pool in the white rock, where water 
enough gushes out to run a prohibition campaign and give every man a 
drink as often as he wants one. When I first knew the spring it was 
doing business single-handed and alone, although the distillery close by 
and the brewery across the creek were rivals for public favor, to say 
nothing of Heber's tavern on the corner. But the spring is there yet, 
while the distillery is gone ; and the path that leads down to the spring 
has borne the footprint, often, too, of nearly every man, woman, or 
child who has travelled this forest or lived in Brookville in the last one 
hundred years." 

511 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

brookville's early pugilists. 

I clip the following from the pen of Bion H. Butler: " Harry Clover 
was a strong man, and as supple as he was strong. He could lift with 
his teeth a chair on which was a man weighing two hundred and twenty- 
five pounds. He could take up a barrel of whiskey easy and drink from 
the bung-hole. 

" Clover was a blacksmith. He weighed two hundred pounds, but 
he was as agile as any man you ever saw. One day, when he had gone 
with some lumber to Pittsburg in rafting season, he went into a store to 
buy a hat. The price did not suit him, so in the course of the banter 
he told the merchant to hang it on a hook that was screwed in the 
ceiling and let him kick at it. If he kicked it down it was to be his. 
If not, he would pay double for it. The first kick Clover brought the 
hat down, kicking a hole in the ceiling which was a sight for raftsmen 
for years. 

" Harry had no scientific pugilistic training, and never sought a row. 
On the contrary, he was cowardly, and often would not fight when bullies 
set on him. But when his anger was aroused his great strength and his 
activity made him a terrible enemy. When he worked in the old black- 
smith-shop by the bridge I have seen him shoe unruly horses, and he just 
held them by main force. His reputation had extended all along the 
creek ; and in the spring, when we went to Pittsburg with lumber, the 
first question a?ked was as to whether Harry Clover had come down. 

"More or less rivalry always existed between the raftmen and the 
furnace-men along the river. One time the Red tJank furnace hands 
concluded they would clean out the raftmen, and a fellow by the name 
of Tom Fagan, who had heard of Clover, came down from Catfish Fur- 
nace to do him up. Clover never wanted to quarrel when sober, and he 
hid behind a door when Fagan came to look for him. After much per- 
suasion he was brought forth. When he stepped up before Fagan he 
closed an eye with each fist before Fagan could get a successful blow on 
Clover anywhere." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MY FIRST RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKVILLE. 

I WAS born in Brookville when wolves howled almost nightly on what 
is now known as our " Fair Ground;" when the pine in its lofty pride 
leaned gloomily over every hill-side ; when the shades of the forest were 
heavy the whole day through ; when the woods around our shanty town 
was the home of many wild animals, such as panthers, bears, wild-cats, 
foxes, deer, wolves, catamounts, coons, ground-hogs, porcupines, i)ar- 

512 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tridges, elks, rabbits, turkeys, and pheasants ; when the clear sparkling 
waters of the North Fork, Sandy Lick, and Red Bank Creeks contained 
choice pike, many bass, sunfish, horned chubs, trout, and other fish; 
when the wild "bee trees" were quite numerous and full of luscious 
sweets for the woodsman's axe. As you will see, choice meals for hunters 
and Nimrods could easily be obtained from the abundance of this game. 




Ts'l S 



. r ':!■' ,"•'.. v~^--,-»-. rn^ftm ■, , ! ^m^b^~ 







Pioneer court-house and jail, 1S31, — 

" Where gross misconduct met the lash, 
And there see the rock-built prison's dreadful face."' 

The conditions and circumstances of the county made every man a 
hunter, and each and every one had his gun, bullet-moulds, shot-pouch, 
and powder-horn for any and every emergency. It was frequently found 
necessary before going to church on Sunday to shoot a wild turkey or a 
deer to " keep them off the grass." The " mighty hunters," though, were 
"Mike," "Dan," John, and "Bill" Long. Dan was murdered on the 
Clarion River, near Raught's mill. John was the father of Hon. James 
E. Long. In winter these hunters wore a white garment, called a " hunt- 
ing-shirt," buckskin breeches, and moccasin shoes. In their shirt belts 
each carried a flint-knocker, spunk, hunting-knives, and a tomahawk. 

513 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Animals were ruthlessly killed for their skins. Deer were thus slaughtered, 
only the "saddles" or hind quarters being saved for food. If a history 
of these Longs could be truthfully written, — a full narration of their ad- 
ventures, perils, coolness, and daring while on the trail of bears, wolves, 
and panthers, — it would, perhaps, make a book equally as interesting as 
the "Life of Daniel Boone and Simon Girty." 

In the way of a preface to these imperfect reminiscences of Brookville 
and our dear fathers I simply ask of you this : 

" Let not ambition mock their useful toil, 
These homely joys and destinies obscure, 
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
These short and simple annals of the poor." 

My first clear and distinct recollections of our town and the people 
in it are in the years 1840 to 1S43. The ground where the Democrat is 
now printed was then covered with pines. Then Brookville was a town 
of forty or fifty "shanties" and eight or ten business places, including 
the "old brick court-house" and the "old stone jail." The number of 
people in the town was three hundred and twenty-two. These "shanties" 
were principally on Main Street, and extended from where the Baptist 
church now is in the east to where Judge Clark now lives in the west. 
There were a few scattered shanties on Jefferson Street. A great deep 
gully crossed Main Street about where the Brookville National Bank now 
stands. 

A common sign in those days was, " Cakes & Beer For Sale Here," 
— a bottle of foaming beer in a glass in the corner. The first of these 
signs which I remember was one on John Brownlee's house, on the north- 
east corner of Main and Mill Streets, and one on John Showalter's house 
(the late gunsmith), now the property of John S. Moore. The cakes 
were made of New Orleans molasses, and were delicious, more so than 
any you can make or buy now. They were sold for a cent apiece. The 
beer was home-made, and called "small beer," and sold for three cents 
a glass. It was made of hops, ginger, spruce, sassafras-roots, wheat bran, 
molasses, yeast, and water. About every family made their own beer. 
Mrs. Showalter and other old ladies living in the town now, I venture to 
say, have made "barrels" of it. 

The hotels in the town then were four in number. First, the " Red 
Lion," located then where Frank P. Rankin now has his hardware store. 
This hotel was kept by John Smith, the step-father of David Eason. The 
second was the " Jefferson House," then kept by Thomas Hastings, now 
occupied and kept by Phil. J. Allgeier. In this hotel the "light fantas- 
tic toe" was tripped to the airs of "Money Musk," "Virginia Reel," 
"French Four," and "Pine Creek Lady." The orchestra for these 
occasions was George Hayes, a colored fiddler of the town, who could 

514 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

play the violin behind his back as well as before his face, with his left or 
right hand, and asleep or awake. I could name quite a number of ladies 
in the town now whom I used to see enjoying themselves in this way. 
The third was the " Franklin House," built by John Gelvin, and then 
kept by John Pierce. The Central Hotel, owned by S. B. Arthurs, has 
been erected on the ground occupied by the Franklin. The fourth was 
on the corner of Main and Barnett Streets, erected by John Dougherty. 
It swung the sign, — 

" Peace and Poverty, by John Dougherty." 

In 1840 it was occupied and kept by John Gallagher. Each of these 
hotels had license, and sold whiskey at three cents a drink, mostly on 
credit. You could have your whiskey straight, or have brown sugar or 
"tansy bitters" in it. The bars had to be opened regularly on Sunday 
for " morning bitters." Single meals were given for twenty-five cents, a 
" check" or cold meal for a " 'leven-penny bit," and a bed for ten cents. 
You could stop overnight, have supper, bed, morning bitters, and break- 
fast, all for fifty cents. 

The Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike was completed in 1822-23. 
It was a good road, and was kept in fair repair. In 1840 it passed 
from under State control, and the magnitude of the travel over it was 
great. The stage line was started in 1825. Morrow started his team 
in 1835, and cattle and other droving commenced in 1835. All this I 
am told; but I know the stage was a big factor in 1840. Morrow was 
on time, and droving was immense. I have seen passing through Brook- 
ville on their way east from four to six droves of cattle in a day. The 
droves were generally divided into three sections. At the head of the 
first would be a man leading a big ox, his extra clothing strapped on the 
ox's head, and the man would be crying out ever and anon, " K-o, 
b-o-s-s;" "Come, boss." I have seen two and three droves of sheep 
pass in a day, with occasionally a drove of hogs sandwiched between 
them. Horse droves were numerous, too. I have seen a few droves of 
colts, and a few droves of turkeys. I could not give an estimate of the 
number of these droves I have seen passing our home in a day. The 
business of droving began in June of each year, and ended in November. 
There was no other way to take this merchandise east than to drive it. 

But you must not think everybody was going east. A big lot of 
people were going west, including their cousins and their aunts. This 
turnpike was the shortest line west. We lived where T. L. Templeton 
now lives, and every few days all through the summer months I would 
see, nearly opposite the Baptist church, in the middle of the street, two 
men and a dog, and one of the men usually carrying a gun. They were 
the advance-guard for an " emigrant train." In a few minutes from one 
to six wagons would come in sight and stop, — all stopping here for a 

515 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

short rest. " Where are you going ?" was the usual inquiry. "Going 
West; going to Ohio." The wagons were heavy, wide-tracked, covered 
with hoops and a white canvas, and had a stiff tongue and iron pole- 
chains. The horses wore heavy harness with iron trace-chains. An 
occasional emigrant would locate in our county, but the great majority 
generally struggled on for the far West, — Ohio. 

The usual mode of travel for the people was on foot or on horseback ; 
but the most interesting mode was the daily stage, which " brought" and 
" took" the mail and carried the passengers who were going east or west. 
This was the " limited mail," and the " day and night express" of these 
days, — a through train, only stopping thirty minutes for meals. Of 
course this "limited mail," this "day and night express," over this 
" short route," eclipsed and overshadowed every other line and mode of 
travel. It was "grand, startling, and stupendous." There were no 
through tickets sold, to be 

" Punched, punched with care, 
Punched in the presence of the passengaire." 

The fare was six cents a mile in advance, and to be paid in "bimetal- 
lism." When the officials made their usual tour of inspection over this 
" road," they had extended to them the genuine hospitality of everybody, 
including that of the landlords, and free whiskey. President Roberts, 
of the great Pennsylvania line, is a small potato to- day in contrast with 
the chief manager of our line in that day, for our line was then the van- 
guard of every improvement a passenger might desire or a traveller wish 
for. 

The coaches were made in Concord, New Hampshire, and were called 
" rocka way coaches." P^ach coach had heavy leather belt-springs, and 
was a handsome vehicle, painted red, with gold stripes and letters, and 
was drawn by four horses. The coach was made to carry nine passengers, 
but I have often seen it with a dozen inside, two on the seat with the 
driver, and some on top. Trunks were carried on the top and in the 
"boot." Every driver carried a horn, and always took a "horn." 
When nearing a " relay" or a post-office, the valleys and hills were made 
to echo and re-echo to the " er-r-a h, er-r-a-h, tat, tat, t-ah, tat t-a-h" 
of the driver's horn, which was to attract the attention of the landlord 
or postmaster by night or by day. Sometimes the coaches were the 
most ordinary hacks, and the horses could be "seen through," whether 
sick or well, without the aid of any X-rays. 

The roads in sjjring, summer, and fall were a succession of mud-holes, 
with an occasional corduroy. Don't mention bad roads now. The male 
passengers usually walked up the hills. 

I take from an old paper the experience of one who rode in these 
stages : 

516 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PEXNA. 

"Jolted, thumped, distracted. 

Rocked, and quite forlorn. 
Oh ! wise one, what duties 

Now are laid on corn ? 
Mad, disgusted, angry, 

In a swearing rage, 
'Tis the very d — 1 

Riding in this stage." 

The prominent stage-drivers in 1840 were Gabriel Vastbinder, Bill 
Adams, Joe Stratton, and others. Each driver carried a whip made as 
follows : a hickory stock, and a buckskin lash ten or twelve feet long, 
Avith a silk cracker on the end. These whips were handled with marvel- 
lous dexterity by drivers, and were made to crack over the horses' heads 
like pistols. The great pride of a driver then was to turn a " coach- 
and-four" with the horses on a "complete run." Bill Adams was good 
at this. A laughable incident occurred in one of these turns on Main 
Street. The driver was showing off in his usual style, and in making the 
turn with the horses on a complete run the coach struck a stone, which 
upset it. The weight of all the passengers coming against the coach- 
door burst it open, and the passengers, one and all, were thrown out and 
literally dumped into the hotel bar-room. This was a perfection in stage 
driving not easily attained. 

In 1840 the Brookville merchant kept his own books, — or, as he 
would have said, his own accounts, — wrote all his letters with a quill, 
and when they were written let the ink dry or sprinkled it with sand. 
There were then no envelopes, no postage stamps, no letter-boxes in the 
streets, no collection of the mail. The letter written, the paper was 
carefully folded, sealed with wax or a wafer, addressed, and carried to 
the post-office, where postage was prepaid at rates which would now seem 
extortionate. 

In 1S40, Brookville merchants purchased their goods in Philadelphia. 
These ptirchases were made in the spring and fall. It took about two 
and a half days continuous travelling in the "limited mail" day and 
night stage-coach to reach Lewistown, Pennsylvania, and required about 
one day and a half travelling over the canal and railroad to reach Phila- 
delphia from that point. From Brookville to Philadelphia it recjuired 
some four or five days' constant travelling. Our merchants carried their 
money on these trips as well as they could, mostly secreted in some way 
about their persons. After purchasing their goods in Philadelphia, 
they were ordered to be shipped to Brookville as " heavy freight," over 
the great corporation freight line of " Joe Morrow." Joe was a " bloated 
corporationist," a transportation monopolist of that day. He was a 
whole " trust" in himself. He owned and managed the whole line, and 
had no opposition, on this end at least. His line consisted of two Con- 

517 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

estoga wagons, the bed on each at least four feet high and sixteen feet 
long. Each wagon was painted blue, and each was covered with a white 
canvas, this covering supported by hoops. The wagon was always loaded 
and unloaded from the rear end. The tires on the wheels were six inches 
wide. Each wagon would carry over three tons of freight, and was 
drawn over good roads by six magnificent horses, and over bad roads by 




eight ot such horses. This was the " fast" and heavy freight line from 
Philadelphia to Brookville until the canal was built to Lewistown, Penn- 
sylvania, when Morrow changed his head-quarters from Philadelphia to 
Lewistown, and continued to run his semi annual "freight train" from 
Lewistown to Brookville. Morrow's advent into town was always a great 

51S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

event. He always stopped his " train" in front of the Red Lion Hotel, 
then kept by John Smith. The horses were never stabled, but stood day 
and night in the street, three on each side of the stiff tongue of the 
wagon, and were fed in a box he carried with him, called his " feed- 
trough." The harness was broad and heavy, and nearly covered the 
horses; and they were "hitched up" to the wagon with iron "pole" 
and "trace-chains." The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the 
Switchmen's Union, the "American Railway LTnion," and all the 
Sovereigns and Debses put together, had no terrors for Joe, for he had but 
one employee, a "brakeman," for his second wagon. Joe was the em- 
ployed and the employer. Like a " transportation king," like a " robber 
baron," he sat astride a wagon saddle on the hind near horse, driving 
the others with a single line and a blacksnake whip, to the words, 
"Gee," "Jep," and "Haw." Morrow always remained in Brookville 
four or five days, to buy our products and load his train for the home 
trip. He bought and loaded clover, timothy, and flaxseed, feathers, 
old rags, tar, beeswax, wheat, rye, chestnuts, furs, and dried elder- 
berries. The western terminus of his line was Shippenville, Clarion 
County, Pennsylvania, and on his return from there he bought up these 
products. 

Morrow's last trip to Brookville with his train was about the year 
1850. He was an Irishman, slim, wiry, industrious, and of business 
habits. He was killed by the kick of a horse, at Cross's tavern, Centre 
County, Pennsylvania, — kicked on the nth day of September, 1855, 
and died on the 12th. I remember that he usually wore a spotted 
fawn-skin vest, made from the skin with the hair on. The merchants in 
Brookville of that day who are still living, and for whom Morrow hauled 
goods, as far as I can recollect, are Uriah Matson, Harry Matson, Judge 
Henderson, Samuel Truby, Wm. Rodgers, and W. W. Corbett, who now 
reside in or near the town. Captain John Hastings, of Punxsutawney, 
W. F. Clark, of Maquoketa, Iowa, and S. M. Moore, of Minneapolis, 
Minnesota. 

The town was laid out in 1830. My father moved here in 1832. 
He taught the first term of the school in the town, in the winter of 
1832. He was lieutenant-colonel in the militia, a justice of the peace, 
and was county treasurer when he died, in 1837, at the early age of 
twenty-seven years, leaving my mother in this wilderness, a widow with 
three small children to support and rear. In 1840 my mother taught a 
summer term of school in what was then and is now called the Butler 
school-house. This school house is on the Ridgway road, in Pine Creek 
township, three miles from town. I was small, and had to go and come 
to and from this school with mother. We came home every Saturday to 
remain over Sunday, and to attend Presbyterian church, service being 
then held in the old brick court-house. The Presbyterians then called 

519 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

their church " Bethel." In 1S42 it was changed to Brookville. We had 
no choir in the church then, but had a " clerk," who would stand in front 
of the pulpit, read out two lines, and then sing them, then read two 
more and sing them, and so on until the hymn or psalm was sung, the 
congregation joining in as best they could. Of these clerks, the only 
ones I can now recollect were Thomas Lucas, Samuel McQuiston, and 
John S. Lucas. I have no recollection of David's psalms being used 
other than is found in Watts's version, in combination with the hymns. 
I recollect two of the favorite hymns at that time with this church. The 
first verse of each hymn was as follows : 

" When I can read my title clear 
To mansions in the skies, 
I'll bid farewell to every fear, 
And wipe my weeping eyes." 

The first verse of the second hymn was : 

" There is a land of pure delight, 
Where saints immortal reign ; 
Infinite day excludes the night, 
And pleasures l:>anish pain." 

One by one, these early pioneer Christians have left for this "land 
of pure delight 1" to occupy these 'Mnansions in the skies." I hope 
and pray that each one is now — 

" In seas of heavenly rest." 

After returning home from the Butler school-house one Saturday, I 
remember I asked my mother for a " piece." She went to the cupboard, 
and when she got there the cupboard was not bare, for, lo ! and behold, a 
great big snake was therein, coiled and ready for fight. My mother, in 
horror, ran to the door and called Mr. Lewis Dunham, a lawyer, who lived 
in the house now occupied by R. M. Matson, Esq. Mr. Dunham came 
on a run, and tried to catch or kill the snake with our " tongs," but it 
made good its escape through a big hole in the corner of the cupboard. 
Reptiles, such as black-, rattle-, house-, and other snakes were very 
plenty then in and around Brookville, and dangerous, too. These snakes 
fed and lived on birds, mice, etc., and were very fond of milk, which they 
drink after the manner of a horse. 

In a former chapter I called Brookville a town of shanties. And so it 
was; but there was one exception, there was one solid building, a dwell- 
ing occupied by a man named Bliss, on Water Street, on or near the lot 
at present owned and occupied by Billy Barr. It was built of logs. The 
other shanties were solid enough, for they were built in a different man- 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ner from shanties now, being put together with "frame timbers," mor- 
tised and tenoned, and fastened with oak pins, as iron and nails were 
scarce, people being poor and having little or no money. Every build- 
ing had to have a "raising," and the neighbors had to be invited to 
help " raise." Cyrus Butler, a bluff, gruff Yankee, was the captain at all 
raisings. He would stand off by himself, crying out at the proper time, 
"All together, men, he-o he ! he-o-he 1" 




My mother. 
" Who ran to help me when I fell, 
And would some pretty story tell, 
And kiss the place to make it well ? 
My mother!" 

No dwelling in the town was then complete without having in the 
back-yard an "out-oven," an "ash-hopper," a "dye-kettle," and a 
rough box fastened to the second story of the necessary, in which to 
raise early cabbage-plants. At the rear of each kitchen was a hop-vine 
with its pole, and each family raised its own catnip, peppermint, sage, 
and tansy*. 

" The hand of the reaper 

Takes the leaves that are hoary, 
But the voice of the weeper 
Wails manhood in glory." 
34 521 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1840 there Avas a law requiring the enrollment of all able-bodied 
men between twenty-one and forty-five years of age in the militia. These 
were formed into companies and battalions, and organized into brigades, 
each brigade to meet once a year in "encampment," for a period of 
three days, two days for "muster and drill" and one day for "review." 
The encampments were held in May or June, and for some reason or 
other these soldiers were called the " cornstalk militia," because some of 
the soldiers carried cornstalks for guns. No uniforms were worn in most 
cases. The soldier wore his homespun or store-clothes, and each one re- 
ported with his own pike, wooden gun, rifle, or musket, and, under the 
inspiring influence of his accoutrements, discipline, and drill, — 

" Each bosom felt the high alarms, 
And all their burning pulses beat to arms." 

For non-attendance by a soldier at these encampments a fine of fifty 
cents was imposed for every day's absence. This fine had to be paid in 
cash, and was quite a severe penalty in those days of no money, county 
orders, and store barter. 

The first encampment I remember was held on what is now called 
Granger (Jack) Heber's farm. Brigadier General Mercer was the com- 
mander then. He rode a sorrel horse, with a silver mane and tail, and a 
curled moustache. His bridle was ornamented with fine leather straps, 
balls, and tassels, and the blue saddle-cloth was covered with stars and 
spangles, giving the horse the appearance of a "fiery dragon." The 
general would occasionally dismount, to make some inspection on foot, 
when the army was drawn up in line, and then a great race, and fre- 
quently a fight, would occur among the small boys for the possession of 
the horse. The reward for holding him at this time was a " fippenny- 
bit." The camp grounds were alive with whiskey-sellers, ginger-bread 
and small beer dealers. Whiskey was to be had from barrels or jugs, in 
large or small quantities. When the army was in line it was dealt out to 
the soldiers from a bucket with a dipper. Anybody could sell whiskey 
and anybody could drink it. It was worth from twelve to twenty cents 
a gallon. The more brawls and fist-fights, the livelier, better, and greater 
was considered the muster. The bad blood between neighbors was al- 
ways settled here. F]ach party always resolved to meet the other on re- 
view-day to fight it out, and after the fight to meet, drink together, and 
make up their difference. Pugilism was practised in that day, not on 
scientific principles, but by main strength. The terror of all public 
gatherings was a man called "Devil John Thompson." He lived in 
Indiana County, and came here always on reviews. Each military com- 
pany had a fifer or drummer, seldom a complete band. I have seen the 
late Judge Taylor blowing his fife, the only musician of and for one of 
these companies. This occurred on Main Street, in front of our house ; 

522 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

and when I look back on this soldier scene, it seems to me these soldiers, 
from their appearance, must have been composed of the rag tag and bob- 
tail of creation. An odd and comic sight it really was. To be an officer 
or captain in one of these companies was considered a great honor, and 
something which the recipient was in duty bound to thank God for in 
his morning and evening prayers. I cannot do this subject justice. 
Such was the Pennsylvania militia as I saw it, and all that remains for 
me to say is, " Great the State and great her sons." 

In 1840 we had two big men in the town, — Judge William Jack, who 
was sent to Congress, and who built and lived in the house on Pickering 
Street now owned and occupied by Joseph Darr, Elsq., and General 
Levi G. Clover, who lived on Main Street, in a house that was burned 
down, which stood on the lot now owned by Mrs. Clarissa Clements, 
and is the place of business of Misses McLain and Fetzer. Clover was a 
big man physically, a big man in the militia, a big man in politics, and 
a big man in business. Like most big men in those days, he owned and 
ran a whiskey-still. This distillery was located on or near the property 
of Fred. Starr, in what is now Litchtown. I used to loaf occasionally in 
this distillery, and I have seen some of our old citizens take a pint tin 
cup and dip it full of whiskey from out of Clover's copper kettles, and 
then drink this whole pint of whiskey down apparently at one gulp. I 
might pause to say right here, that in drinking whiskey, racing, square 
pulling, swearing, and fighting the old settler was "right in it." The 
wrestling- and fighting-ground then for the men and boys was the ground 
now occupied by the Jenks machine-shop, and the highway to and from 
these grounds was down the alley between Ed. Snyder's blacksmith-shop 
and C. A. Carrier's store. I have had business on that ground with some 
boys myself. 

In the woods in and around Brookville in 1840 there were many sweet- 
singing birds and beautiful wild-flowers. I remember the laurel, ^^'e 
used to adorn our mantels and parlor fireplaces with these every spring. 
I remember the honeysuckle, the wild rose, the crab-apple tree, the thorn, 
and others. The aroma from many of these flowers was delightful. 
House-plants were unknown. The garden flowers of that day were the 
pink ("a flower most rare"), the lilac, the hollyhock, the sunflower, and 
the rose. Each garden had a little bed of ' ' sweet-williams' ' and ' ' johnny- 
jump ups." The garden rose was a beautiful, sweet flower then, and it is 
a beautiful, sweet flower to-day, and it ever will be sweet and beautiful. 
My mother used to sing to me this hymn of Isaac Watts's as a lullaby : 

" How fair is the rose, what a beautiful flower! 
In summer so fragrant and gay ; 
But its leaves are beguining to fade in an hour; 
And they wither and (he in a day. 

523 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Yet the rose has one powerful virtue to boast 
Above all the flowers of the field : 
When its leaves are all dead and its fine colors lost, 
Still how sweet a perfume it will yield. 

" So frail are the youth and the beauty of men, 

Though they look gay and bloom like the rose, 
Yet all our fond care to preserve them is vam, 
Time kills them as fast as he goes. 

" Then I'll not be proud of my youth or my beauty, 
Since both will soon wither and fade. 
But gain a good name by performing my duty ; 
This will scent like the rose when I'm dead." 

In 1840 there was no church building in the town. Our Presby- 
terian preacher in the town was the Rev. David Polk, a cousin to Presi- 
dent Polk. The token was then given out on Saturday to all those who 
were adjudged worthy to sit at the Lord's table. These tokens were 
taken up on the following Sunday while seated at the table. Friday was 
"fast" or preparation day. We were not allowed to eat anything, or 
very little, until the sun went down. I can only remember that I used 
to get hungry and long for night to come. Rev. Polk preached half 
of his time in Corsica, the other half in Brookville. His salary was 
four hundred dollars per year, — two hundred dollars from Brookville 
and two hundred dollars from Corsica. He lived on the pike in the 
hollow beyond and west of Roseville. He preached in the court- 
house until the Presbyterians completed the first church building in 
the town, in 1843. ^^ stood where the church now stands, and was 
then outside of the borough limits. The building was erected through 
the efforts of a lawyer then residing in Brookville, named C. A. Alex- 
ander. The ruling elders of the church then were Thomas Lucas, John 
Matson, Sr., l^^lijah Clark, John Lattimer, Joseph McCullough, and John 
Wilson. 

Other preachers came to town occasionally in 1S40, and held their 
services in the court- house. One jolly, aged Welshman was called Father 
Thomas. He was a Baptist, a dear old man, and a great singer. 1 al- 
ways went to his church to hear him sing. I can sing some of his songs 
yet. I will repeat a stanza from one of his favorites : 

"Oh, then I shall be ever free, 
Happy in eternity. 
Eternity, eternity, 
Happy in eternity." 

Dear old soul, he is in eternity, and I have no doubt is happy singing 
his favorite song there. 

524 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

A Methodist preacher named Elijah Coleman came here occasionally. 
Methodist head-quarters were at Uavid Henry's and at Cyrus Butler's. 
The first Methodist prayer-meeting held in town was at Cyrus Butler's. 
It was held in the little yellow house occupied for years by Mrs. Rachel 
Dixon, and torn down by C. C. Benscoter, Esq., in 1887, in order to 
erect his present dwelling. In 1840 men and women were not permitted 
to sit on the same seat in church, or on the same side of the house. 

The physicians in the town in 1840 were Dr. George Darling, father 
of the late Paul Darling, and Dr. Gara Bishop, father of Mrs. Edmund 
English. Dr. Bishop was also a Presbyterian preacher. 

In 1840, Jefferson County contained a population of seven thousand 
two hundred and fifty-three people, and embraced nearly all of Forest 
and Elk Counties. Ridgway was then in the northeast corner of our 
county, and Punxsutawney was a village of about fifteen or twenty 
dwellings. 

The politics of the county was divided into Whig and Democrat. 
The leading Whigs in Brookville, as I recollect them, were Thomas 
Lucas, Esq., James Corbett, father of Clolonel Corbett, Benjamin Mc- 
Creight, father of Mrs. Dr. Hunt, Thomas M. Barr, and Samuel H. 
Lucas. The leading Democrats were Hon. William Jack, General L. G. 
Clover, Judge Joseph Henderson, John Smith, Daniel Smith, Je?se G. 
Clark, father of Judge Clark, I). B. Jenks, John Dougherty, Richard 
Arthurs, and Thomas Hastings. Politics ran so high that year that each 
party had its own Fourth of July celebration. The Whigs celebrated at 
Port Barnett. Nicholas McQuiston, the miller who died at Langville a 
few years ago, had one of his legs broken at this celebration by the ex- 
plosion of a log which he had filled with powder. The Democrats cele- 
brated in Brookville, in front of the Franklin Hotel, now the Central. 
I was big enough to have a full run and clear view of this table and cele- 
bration. The table was covered with small roasted pigs, roasted turkeys, 
venison, pies, gingerbread, "pound-cake," etc. I was not allowed to 
participate in the feast, although my father in his lifetime had been a 
Democrat. Boys and girls were then taught modesty, patience, and man- 
ners by parents. Children were taught and compelled to respect age and 
to defer to the wishes of father and mother. Now the father and mother 
must defer to the wishes of children. There was more home and less 
public training of children, and, as a result, children had more modesty 
and patience and less impudence. In 1S40 children slept in "trundle- 
beds," and were required by their mothers to repeat every night before 
going to sleep this little prayer : 

" Now I lay me clown to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
If I should die before I wake, 
I pray the Lord my soul to take." 
525 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

This home training was a constant building up of individual charac- 
ter, and I believe a much more effectual way for good than the present 
public way of building character collectively. 

In 1840 our Congressman was Judge Jack, of Brookville, and our 
member of the Legislature was Hon. James L. Gillis, of Ridgway town- 
ship. The county officers were : Prothonotary, General Levi G. Clover ; 
Sheriff, John Smith ; Treasurer, Jesse G. Clark ; Commissioners, Daniel 
Coder, Irwin Robinson, and Benjamin McCreight. The county was 
Democratic by one hundred and twenty-five majority. 

The postmaster in Brookville was John Dougherty, and Joseph Hen- 
derson was deputy United States marshal for Jefferson County. He took 
the census of 1840 for our county. 

Of the above-named politicians and officials, Judge Henderson is the 
only one now living (1895). Every day yet the judge can be found at 
his place of business, pleasant, cheerful, and intelligent, — a fine old gen- 
tleman. In his many political contests I always admired, defended, and 
supported him. One thing I begin to notice, "he is not as young as he 
used to be." 

" Oh, ttll me the tales I delighted to hear, 
Long, long ago, long, long ago; 
Oh, sing me the old sungs so full of cheer, 
Long, long ago, long, long ago." 

In 1840 we boys amused ourselves in the winter months by catching 
rabbits in box-traps, — the woods were full of them, — skating on Geer's 
pond, a small lake then located where Allgeier's brewery now stands (this 
lake was destroyed by the building of Mabon's mill-race), skating on 
Barr's (now Litch's) dam, and coasting down the town or graveyard hill. 
In the summer and fall months the amusements were alley-ball behind the 
court-house, town-ball, over-ball, sock-ball, fishing in the streams and in 
Geer's pond, riding floats of slabs on the creek, swimming in the " deep 
hole," and gathering blackberries, crab-apples, wild plums, and black 
and yellow haws. But the amusement of all amusements, the one that 
was enjoyed every day in the year by the boys, was the cutting of fire- 
wood. The wood for heating and cooking was generally hauled in 
"drags" to the front door of each house on Main Street, and there cut 
on the " pile" by the boys of each house. The gathering of hazel-nuts, 
butternuts, hickory-nuts, and chestnuts was an agreeable and profitable 
recreation. My boy associates of those days — where are they? I can 
only recall the following, who are now living in Brookville : David Kason, 
W. C. Evans, Dr. C. M. Matson, Thomas E. Espy, Thomas P. McCrea, 
Daniel Burns, Clover Smith, W. C. Smith, and W. R. Ramsey. I under- 
stand John Craig, Frederick and Lewis Dunham, Elijah and Lorenzo 
Lowell, and Alexander Barr live in the State of Iowa, Richard Espy in 
Kentucky, and John L. and Anson Warren in AVisconsin. 

526 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1840 every housewife in Brookville cooked over a fireplace, in 
which a crane was fastened so as to swing in, out, off, on, and over the 
fire. Every fireplace had a wooden poker, a pair of tongs to handle 
burning wood, and a shovel to remove the ashes. The fuel used was 
wood, — pine, maple, oak, birch, and hickory. To every fire there had to 
be a ''back log," and the smaller or front pieces were supported on 
"andirons" or common stones. Matches were not in use, hence fires 
were covered at night so as to preserve some live coals for the morning 
fire. Rich people had a little pair of bellows to blow these live coals 
into a blaze, but poor people had to do the best they could with their 




Kitchen and fireplace in 1840. 



mouths. After having nearly smoked my eyes out trying to blow coals 
into life, I have had to give it up and go to a neighbor to borrow a shovel 
of fire. Some old settlers used "spunk," a flint, and a barlow knife to 
start a fire in an emergency like this. Spunk — punk or touchwood — was 
obtained from the inside of a hollow white maple-tree. When matches 
were first brought around great fear was entertained that they might burn 
everybody out of house and home. My mother secured a tin box with a 
safe lid in which to keep hers. For some reason they were called loco- 
foco matches. 

The crane in the fireplace had a set of rods with hooks on each end, 
and they were graduated in length so as to hang the kettle at the proper 

527 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

height from the fire. In addition to the kettles we had the long-handled 
frying-pan, the handle of which had to be supported by some one's hand, 
or else on a box or a chair. Then there was the three-legged, short- 
handled spider. It could support itself. And I must not forget the 
griddle for buckwheat cakes. It had to be suspended by a rod on the 
crane. Then there was the old bake-kettle, or oven, with legs and a 
closely-fitted cover. In this was baked the " pone" for the family. I can 
say truthfully that pone was not used more than thirty days in the month. 

This was a hard way to cook. Women would nearly break their 
backs lifting these heavy kettles on and off, burn their faces, smoke their 
eyes, singe their hair, blister their hands, and "scorch" their clothes. 

Our spoons were pewter and iron ; knives and forks were iron with 
bone handles. The chinaware was about as it is now. 

The every-day bonnet of women then was the "sun-bonnet" for sum- 
mer, and a quilted " hood" for winter. The dress bonnet was made of 
jiaper or leghorn, and was in shape something like our coal-scuttles. 

In 1840 nearly every wife in Brook ville milked a cow and churned 
butter. The cows were milked at the frontdoor on Main Street. These 
cows were ornery, ill-looking, ill-fed, straw-stealing, and blue-milk giving 
creatures. The water with which to wash clothes and do the scrubbing 
was caught in barrels or tubs from the house-roof. Scrubliing the floors of 
a house had to be attended to regularly once a week. This scrubbing had 
to be done with powdered sand and a home made " split broom." Every 
wife had to make her own soap, bake her own bread, sew and dye all the 
clothes for the family, spin the wool for and knit the mittens and socks, 
make the coverlets, quilt the quilts, see that the children's shoes for Sun- 
day were greased with tallow every Saturday night, nurse the sick, give 
"sheep saffron" for the measles, and do all the cooking. About every 
family had a cow, dog, cat, pig, geese, and chickens. The town gave 
these domestic animals the right to " life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- 
l)iness." Of course, under these sanitary conditions, the town was alive 
with fleas, and every house was full of bedbugs. Bats were numerous, 
and the "public opinion" then was that the bats brought the bedbugs. 
This may be given as an illustration of the correctness of public opinion. 
However, we were contented and happy, and used to sing, — 

" Home, home, sweet, sweet home. 
Be it ever so humble, there's no phice like home." 

In 1S40 there were tloubtless many fine horses in Jefferson County, 
yet it seemed to me nearly every horse had stringhalt, ring-bone, spavin, 
high-step, or poll-evil. Horses with poll-evil were numerous then, but 
the disease has apparently disappeared. It was an abscess on the horse's 
head, behind the ears, and was doubtless caused by cruelty to the animal. 
If a horse did not please his master in his work it was a common thing 

528 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

for his master to knock him down with a handspike, a rail, or the butt end 
of a blacksnake whip. Poor food and these blows undoubtedly caused 
this horrible disease. Sick horses were treated in a barbarous manner. 
When sick they were not allowed to lie down ; hence they were whipped, 
run, and held upon their feet. I have seen horses held up with hand- 
spikes, rails, etc. The usual remedies were bleeding and drenching with 
filthy compounds. " Bots" was the almost unfailing disease. 

The cattle were home stock, big-horned, heavy-bellied, and long- 
legged. They could jump over almost anything, and could outrun the 
"devil and his imps." They were poorly fed, received little care, and 
had little or no stabling. In the spring it was common for cows to be on 
the " lift." The common trouble with cattle was " hollow horn," " wolf 
in the tail," and loss of " cud." These were little else than the results 
of starvation. I have witnessed consultations over a sick cow, when one 
man would declare positively she had hoUovv^ horn, and another declare 
just as positively it was wolf in the tail. After a spirited dispute they 
would compromise by agreeing to bore her horn and split her tail. If 
they had called it hollow belly and wolf in the stomach they would have 
been nearer the truth. A better remedy would have been a bucket of 
warm slop, a good stable, and plenty of hay. The remedy for " hollow 
horn" was to bore a gimlet hole in the horn near the head and then sat- 
urate a cloth with spirits of turpentine and wrap it around the horn. The 
cure for wolf in the tail was to split the tail near the end with a knife, and 
fill the cut with salt and pepper. The cure for "lifts" was to call the 
neighbors, lift the cow to her feet and prop her up so she could not lie 
down again. The cures for loss of " cud" were numerous and filthy. A 
"sure cure," and common, too, was to roll human excrement in dough 
and force it down the animal's throat. The same remedy was used for 
" founder." If the critter recovered, the remedy was the right one ; if it 
died, the reason was the remedy had been used too late. Of course, these 
conditions were all imaginary. They were only diseases resulting from 
exposure and want of nourishing food. A wild onion called "ramp," 
and a shrub called " tripwood," grew in the woods and were early in 
their appearance each spring. These, of which the cattle ate freely, were 
often their only dependence for food. 

The hog of that time was a racer, and could outrun the average 
horse. His snort when startled was something terrible. He was of the 
" razor-back" variety, long-bodied, long-legged, and long-snouted. By 
means of his snout he could plough through everything. Of course he was 
starved in the winter, like all the other animals, and his condition re- 
sulting from his starvation was considered a disease and called "black 
teeth. ' ' The remedy for this disease was to knock out the teeth with a 
hammer and a spike. 

Ignorance was the cause of this cruelty to animals. To the readers 

529 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of this volume the things mentioned are astonishing. But I have only 
hinted at the barbarities then inflicted on these domestic animals, which 
had no rights which man was bound to respect. Not until 1866 was any 
effort made in this country to protect dumb animals from the cruelty of 
man. In that year Henry Berg organized the American society in New 
York, and to-day the movement is felt throughout a great portion of the 
world. In 1890 there were five hundred and forty-seven societies in ex- 
istence for the prevention of cruelty to animals, two hundred and twenty- 
three of them in the United States. The work of humane organizations 
is not a matter of mere sentiment. "The economic necessity for the 
existence of societies having for their object the better care and protec- 
tion of animals becomes manifest when it is considered that our indus- 
tries, our commerce, and the supply of our necessities and comforts de- 
pend upon the animal world. In the United States alone it is estimated 
that there are 14,000,000 horses, valued at $979,000,000. There are also 
2,330,000 mules, 16,000,000 milk cows, 36,800,000 oxen and other cattle, 
44,000,000 sheep, and 50,000,000 swine. The total domestic animals 
in 1890 were estimated at 165,000,000, valued at over §2,400,000,000." 
To-day every good citizen gives these humane societies or their agents his 
support, and almost every one is against the man or men who in any way 
abuse dumb beasts. 

Along about 1840 the winters were very severe and long, much more 
so than now. Regularly every fall, commencing in November, — 

" Soft as the eider down, 
Light as the spider gown. 
Came the beautiful snow, till 
Over the meadow lots, 
Over our garden plots, 
Over the ponds and the lakes, 
Lay only beautiful flakes. 
Then with this snowing, 
Puffing and blowing, 
Old Boreas came bellowing by, 
Till over the by-ways, 
And over the highways. 
The snow-drifts were ever so high." 

The snow was several feet deep every winter. It came early and 
remained till late. 

I have made frequent reference in these chapters to the old court-house. 
As I find there is some confusion in regard to its size, and as I find our 
county history contains this error : " The court-house, a one-story brick 
building, was finished in 1832," I deem it of sufficient importance to 
correct these errors, and to state that the court-house was a two-story 
building, with a one story wing on the west extending along Main Street. 

530 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

This wing was divided into two rooms, the first for the prothonotary's 
office and the other for the commissioners' office. The main building 
was two-storied, with an attic and belfry. The second story was divided 
into four good-sized rooms, called jury-rooms. The southwest room was 
used by the Methodists for a long time for their Thursday evening prayer- 
meeting. Alexander FuUerton was their janitor. The Union Sunday- 
school was held here for years also. The northwest room was used as an 
armory by the Brookville Rifles, — a volunteer company. The other two 
were used as jury-rooms. I have played in every room of the old build- 
ing, and know every foot of it. The building cost three thousand dol- 
lars. The contractors were John Lucas and Robert P. Barr. It was torn 
down in 1866 to make room for the present fine structure. Our alley- 
ball games were all played for years behind the old court-house. 

Our first jail was a stone structure, built of common stone, in 1831. 
It was two stories high, was situated on the northeast corner of the public 
lot, near Joseph Darr's residence, and fronting on Pickering Street. 
Daniel Elgin was the contractor. The building was divided into eight 
rooms, two down stairs and two up-stairs for the jail proper, and two 
down-stairs and two up-stairs for the sheriff's residence and office. The 
sheriff occupied the north part. The early church services in this building 
were held in the jail part, up stairs. This old jail has a history, not the 
most pleasant to contemplate or write about. It was used to imprison run- 
away slaves, and to lodge them overnight, by slave captors. Imprisoning 
men for no other crime than desiring to enjoy life, liberty, and the pur- 
suit of happiness ! There was a branch of the underground railroad for 
the escape of slaves running through Brookville at that time. As many 
as twenty-five of those unfortunate creatures have passed through Brook- 
ville in one day. Judge Heath, then living in our town, — a great Meth- 
odist and an abolitionist, — had to pay a fine of two thousand dollars for 
aiding two slaves to escape from this old stone jail ; a big sum of money 
to pay for performing a Christian, humane act. Was it not? In this 
stone jail men were imprisoned for debt, and kept in it until the last 
penny was paid. I have seen some of the best men of that day in our 
county imprisoned in this old jail for debt or bail money. I have seen 
Thomas Hall, than whom I knew no better man, no better Christian, an 
elder in the Presbyterian church, incarcerated in the old stone jail for 
bail money. He had bailed a relative for the sum of fifty dollars, and 
his relative let him suffer. Honest, big-hearted, generous, Christian 
Thomas Hall I Thank God that the day for such inhumanities as those 
stated above are gone forever. This old jail was rented after the new 
one was erected, and used as a butcher-shop until it was torn down to 
make room for the present court- house. 

In these days of fine carriages and Brookville wagons it might be 
well to describe the wagon of 1840. It was called the Pennsylvania 

531 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

wagon, was wide-tracked, and had wooden axles with iron skeins on the 
spindles. The tongue was stiff, and reached about three feet ahead of 
the horses. The horses were hitched to these wagons by iron trace- and 
long tongue-chains. In rough roads I used to think every time the 
tongue would strike a horse on the leg it would break it. Old team 
horses understood this and would spread out to avoid these leg-blows. 
The wheels were kept in place by means of an iron strap and linch-pin. 
Every wagon carried its own tar on the coupling-pole under the hind 
axle. The carriage of that day was called a dearborn wagon. I am 
unable to describe these, although I used to see them. The making of 
tar was one of the industries then. It retailed at twenty and twenty-five 
cents a gallon, and brought from three to four dollars a barrel at Pitts- 
burg. These old wagons would screech fearfully if they were not kept 
properly lubricated with this tar. 

Big political conventions were held in those days, and a great custom 
was to have a young lady dressed in white to represent each of the dif- 
ferent States, and have all these ladies in one wagon, which would be 
drawn by four or six horses. 

In the hotels of that day the " bar" was constructed for the safety of 
the bartender. It was a solid structure with a counter in front, from 
which a sliding door on iron rods could be shoved up and locked, or 
shut down and locked; hence the hotel man could "bar" himself in 
and the drunken men out. This was for safety in dispensing whiskey, 
and is the origin of the word "bar" in connection with hotels. In 1S40 
all our hotel bars were so made. 

Lumbering in 1840 was one of our principal industries. We had no 
eastern outlet, and everything had to be rafted to Pittsburg. The saw- 
mills were nearly all "up and down" mills. The "thunder-gust" mills 
were those on small streams. All were driven by flutter-wheels and 
water. It required usually but one man to run one of these mills. He 
could do all the work and saw from one to two thousand feet of boards 
in twelve hours. Pine boards sold in the Pittsburg market then at three 
and four dollars per thousand ; clear pine at ten dollars per thousand. 
Of course these sales were on credit. The boards were rafted in the 
creek in "seven-platform" ])ieces, by means of grubs. The oars were 
hung on what were called thole-pins. The front of each raft had a 
bumper and splash board as a protection in going over dams. The creeks 
then were full of short bends, rocks, and drift. Cables were unknown 
here, and a halyard made from hickory withes or water-beech was used 
as a cable to tie up with. " Grousers" were used to assist in tying up. 
A pilot then received four dollars to the mouth of the creek ; forehands, 
two dollars and expenses. The logging in the woods was all done with 
oxen. The camp and mill boarding consisted of bread, flitch, beans, 
potatoes, Orleans molasses, sometimes a little butter, and coffee or 

532 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tea without cream. Woodsmen were paid sixteen dollars a month and 
boarded, and generally paid in store-orders or trade. 

We usually had three floods on which to run this lumber, — spring, 
June, and fall. At these times rafts were plenty and people were scarce, 
and, as time and tide wait for no man, whenever a flood came every- 
body had to turn out and assist to run the rafts. The boy had to leave 
his school, the minister his pulpit, the doctor abandon his patients, the 
lawyer his briefs, the merchant his yard stick, the farmer his crops or 
seeding. And there was one great compensation in this, — nearly every- 
body got to see Pittsburg. 

"Running down the creek and gigging back" was the business lan- 
guage of everybody. " How many trips have you made ?" etc. It took 
about twelve hours to run a raft from the neighborhood of Brookville to 
the mouth, or the Allegheny River, and ordinarily it required hard 
walking to reach home the next day. Some ambitious, industrious pilots 
would "run down in the daytime and walk back the same night." 
James T. Carroll has made four of these trips in succession, Joseph Sho- 
bert five, and William Green four or five. Of course, these pilots re- 
mained down the last night. This extraordinary labor was accomplished 
without ever going to bed. Although some may be incredulous, these are 
facts, as the parties interested are still alive (1895). Pilots sometimes ran 
all night. Joseph Shobert has started from Brookville at five o'clock p.m. 
and reached the mouth at five o'clock in the morning. Other pilots 
have done this also. 

Pine square timber was taken out and marketed in Pittsburg. No 
other timber was marketable, and then only the best part of the pine 
could be hewed and rafted. Often but one stick would be used from a 
tree. In Pittsburg this timber brought from four to eight cents a foot, 
running measure. 

The square timber business was then tlie business. Every lumberman 
followed it, and every farmer ran one timber raft at least. The "taking 
out of square timber" had to be done in the fall, before snow came. 
The trees were felled, "cut in sticks," "scored in," and hewn smooth 
and square. P^ach "lumber tract" had its log cabin and barn. The 
"sticks" were hauled to the creek on a "bob" sled in the snow by oxen 
or horses, and banked until time to "raft in" and get ready for the 
"spring flood." It was the timber trade that made the pioneer prosper- 
ous and intelligent. 

The lumbermen could contract with hewers for the cutting, scoring, 
and hewing of pine timber, complete, ready to be hauled, for from three- 
quarters to one and a quarter cents per foot. All timber was generally 
well faced on one side, and was rafted with lash-poles of iron-wood or 
white oak, and securely fastened in position by means of white-oak bows 
and ash pins. Bows and pins were an article of merchandise then. Bows 

533 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

sold at seventy-five cents a hundred, and ash pins brought fifty cents a 
hundred. Grubs for board rafts sold at two dollars and fifty cents a 
hundred. Oar stems were then made from small sapling dead pines, 




shaved down. Pine timber or wild lands could then be bought at from 
one dollar to two dollars per acre. 

Along the lower end of our creeks and on the Allegheny River there 
lived a class of people who caught and appropriated all the loose logs, 
shingles, boards, and timber they could find floating down the streams. 

534 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

These men were called by the early lumbermen Algerines, or pirates. 
The name Algerine originated thus: In the war of 1S12 "the dey of 
Algiers took the opportunity of capturing an American vessel and con- 




demning her crew to slavery. Then a powerful squadron, under Porter 
and Perry, early in 1815, appeared in the Mediterranean, captured the 
largest frigate in the Algerine navy, and with other naval successes so 
terrified the dey that he immediately consented to a treaty of amicable 
relations, surrendered all his prisoners, made certain pecuniary in- 

535 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

demnities, and renounced all future claim to any American tribute or 
payments. ' ' 

As there has been considerable agitation over my paragraph on poll- 
evil in horses, I reprint here a slip that has been sent me : 

"AN OLD TIME CURE FOR POLL- EVIL. 

" Ed. Spirit, — I am moved by your quotation from Dr. McKnight's 
article in the Bfookville Democrat on the old-time nonsense in relation 
to poll-evil in horses to say that the doctor's explanation of the cause 
of that severe affliction on the poor brute's head is in part correct ; but 
it was mainly owing to the low door-ways and the low mow-timbers just 
above the horse's head as he stood in the stall of the old-time log stables. 
The horse often struck his head on the lintel of the low door-way as he 
passed in and out ; and as he stood in the stall, when roughly treated by 
his master, in throwing up his head it came in violent contact with the 
timbers, and continued bruising resulted ultimately in the fearful, painful 
abscesses referred to. There were those in that day who had reputations 
for skill in the cure of poll evil, and their method was this : The afflicted 
animal must be brought to the doctor before the break of day. An axe 
was newly ground. The doctor must not speak a word to any person on 
any subject after the horse was given into his hand until the feat was per- 
formed. Before sunrise the doctor took the axe and the horse and pro- 
ceeded out of sight of any human habitation, going towards the east. 
AVhen such a spot was reached he turned towards the animal, bent down 
its head firmly and gently, drew the sharpened blade of the axe first 
lengthwise, then crosswise of the abscess sufficiently to cause the blood 
to flow, muttering meanwhile some mystic words ; then, just below where 
the head of the horse was, he struck the bloody axe in the ground, left it 
there, turned immediately around, walked rapidly away, leading the 
animal, and not at all looking back until he had delivered it into the 
hand of the owner, who was waiting at a distance to receive it, and who 
took it home at once. The next morning at sunrise the axe was re- 
moved, and in due time the cure was effected. 

" An Old-Tlmer. 
" Smickshurg, Pa., September 7, 1S94." 

The first known person to live within the confines of the present 
borough was Jim Hunt, an Indian of the Muncy tribe. He was here as 
early as 1797, and was in banishment for killing a warrior of his own 
tribe. By an Indian law he was not allowed to live in his tribe until 
the place of the warrior he had slain was filled by the capture of another 
male from white people or from other Indians. In iSoS, Jim's friends 
stole a white boy in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and had him 
accepted into the tribe in place of the warrior Jim had killed. Jim 
Hunt's residence or cave was near the deep hole, or near the sand 

536 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

spring, on Sandy Lick, and was discovered in 1843 by Mr. Thomas 
Graham. After 181 2 Jim Hunt never returned. He was a great bear- 
hunter, having killed seventy-eight in one winter. He loved "fire- 
water," and all his earnings went for this beverage; yet he never dared 
to get so drunk he could not run to his cave when he heard a peculiar 
Indian whoop on Mill Creek hills. His Indian enemies pursued him, 
and his Indian friends looked after him and warned him to flee to his 
hiding-place by a peculiar whoop. Little Snow, a Seneca chief, lived at 
the sand spring in i8oo, and it was then called " Wolf Spring." 

The first white person to settle in what is now Brookville was Moses 
Knapp. He built a log house about 1801 at the mouth of North Fork 
Creek, on ground now owned by Thomas L. Templeton, near Christ's 
brewery. The first white child born within the limits of what is now 
Brookville was Joshua Knapp, on Mr. Templeton's lot, at the mouth of 
the North Fork, in the month of March, 1810. He is still living (1895) 
in Pine Creek township, about two miles from the town. About 1806 or 
1807, Knapp built a log grist-mill where the waters of the North Fork then 
entered the Red Bank. It was a rude mill, and had but one run of 7-ock- 
stones. In 18 18 he sold this mill to Thomas Barnett. James Parks, Bar- 
nett's brother-in-law, came to run this mill about 1824 (Barnett having 
died), and lived here until about 1830. Parks came from Westmoreland 
County, Pennsylvania, and brought with him and held in legal slavery 
here a negro man named "Sam," who was \\\q first colored person to 
live in what is now called Brookville. 

Joseph B. Graham, Esq., of Eldred township, informs me that he 
carried a grist on horseback to this mill of one half-bushel of shelled 
corn for this Sam to grind. Mr. Graham says his father put the corn 
in one end of the bag and a big stone in the other end to balance the 
corn. That was the custom, but the 'squire says they did not know any 
better. Joshua Knapp, Uriah Matson, and John Dixon all took grists 
of corn and buckwheat to this mill for "Sam," the miller, to grind. 

» 
" Happy the miller who lives by the mill. 
For by the turning of his hand he can do what he will." 

But this was not so with "Sam." At his master's nod he could 
grind his own " peck of meal," for his body, his work, his life, and his 
will belonged to Parks. Many settlers in early days carried corn to the 
grist-mill on their own shoulders, or on the neck-yoke of a pair of oxen. 
I have seen both of these methods used by persons living ten and fifteen 
miles from a mill. 

The census of 1830 gives Jefferson County a population of 2003 
whites, 21 free colored persons, and i colored slave. This slave, we 
suppose, was " Sam." 

Brookville was laid out as the county seat in 1830, but it was not 
35 537 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

incorporated as a borough until April 9, 1S34. (See pamphlet laws of 
1834, page 209.) The first house was erected in August, 1830. The 
first election held in the new borough for officials was in the spring 
of 1835. Joseph Sharpe was elected constable. Darius Carrier and 
Alexander McKnight were elected school directors. The first complete 
set of borough officers were elected in 1835, and were as follows : 

Burgess, Thomas Lucas ; Council, John Dougherty, James Corbett, 
John Pierce, Samuel Craig, Wm. A. Sloan ; Constable, John McLaughlin 
(this man McLaughlin was a great hunter, and could neither read nor 
write ; he moved to Brockwayville, and from there went West) ; School 
Directors, Levi G. Clover, Samuel Craig, David Henry, C. A. Alexander, 
Wm. A. Sloan, James Corbett. 

In 1840 the borough officers were: 

Burgess, William Jack ; Council, Elijah Heath, John Gallagher, Cyrus 
Butler, Levi G. Clover, John Dougherty, William Rodgers ; Constable, 
John Dougherty. 

Of these early fathers the only one now living (1895) is Major William 
Rodgers. He resides about a mile from town, on the Corsica road. 

hi 1S40 the "itch" was in Brookville, and popular all the year round. 
As bath-tubs were unknown and family bathing rare, this itch was the 
seven-year kind. Head-lice among the people and in the schools were 
also common. Had I been familiar with Burns in my boyhood, many a 
time, while seeing a louse crawl on and over a boy or girl in our schools, 
I could have exclaimed, — 

" O, Jenny, dinna toss your head 
An' set your beauties a' abraed ; 
Ye little ken what cussed speed 
The beast's a makin'." 

The only cure for lice was to "rid" out the hair every few days with a 
big, coarse comb, crack the nits between the thumb-nails, and then satu- 
rate the hair%with "red precipity," using a fine-tooth comb. The itch 
was cured by the use of an ointment made of brimstone and lard. 
During school-terms many children wore little sacks of powdered brim- 
stone about their necks. This was supposed to be a preventive. 

In 1840 the only music-books we had were "The Beauties of Har- 
mony" and "The Missouri Harmony." Each of these contained the 
old "buckwheat" notes of me, fa, sol, la. Every one could not afford 
one of these books. Music- teachers travelled through the county and 
taught classes. A class was twenty-six scholars, a term thirteen nights, 
and the tuition-fee fifty cents for each scholar. Teachers used " tuning- 
forks," and some played a violin in connection with the class-singing. 
The teacher opened the singing by exhorting the class to "sound your 
pitches, — sol, fa, la." 

538 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1840, Billy Boo, an eccentric, intelligent hermit, lived in a hut on 
the farm in Rose township now occupied by A\'illiam Hughey. Although 
he lived in this hut, he spent most of his wakeful hours in Brookville. He 
was a man of good habits, and all that he would tell, or any one could 
learn of him or his nativity, was that he came from England. He was 
about five feet five or six inches high, heavy set, and stoop shouldered. 
He usually dressed in white flannel clothes. Sometimes his clothing, 
from being darned so much, looked as if it had been quilted. He lived 
upon the charity of the people, and by picking up a few pennies for 
some light gardening jobs. He died as a charge on Brookville borough 
in 1863. 

Indian relics were found frequently on our hills and in our valleys in 
1840. They consisted of stone tomahawks, darts, arrows, and flints. 

Prior to and during 1840 a form of legalized slavery was practised in 
this State and county in regard to minor children. Poor or destitute 
children were "bound out" or indentured by the poor overseers to 
masters or mistresses, boys until they were twenty- one years of age and 
girls until they were eighteen. Parents exercised this privilege also. All 
apprentices were then bound to mechanics to learn trades. The period 
of this indenture was three years. The law was severe on the children, 
and in favor of the master or mistress. Under these conditions cruelties 
were practised, and children and apprentices tried to escape them. Of 
course, there were bad children who ran away from kind masters and 
mistresses. The master or mistress usually advertised these runaways. 
I have seen many of these in our papers. I reprint one of these ad- 
vertisements, taken from the Gazette and Cohunbian, published by J. 
Croll & Co., at Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, on August 
8, 1S32: 

" $5 Reward. 

" Run away from the subscriber, living in the borough of Kittanning, 
on the 2 2d inst., an indentured apprentice to the Tailoring business, named 
Henry P. Huffman, between 18 or 19 years of age, stout made and black 
hair, had on when he went away a light cotton roundabout, and panta- 
loons of the same, and a new fur hat. Whoever apprehends the said 
runaway and delivers him to the subscriber in Kittanning shall receive 
the above reward. 

"JOHX AA'lLLIAMS. 
" Kittanning, July 25, 1S32." 

In the forties the election for State officers was held on the second 
Tuesday of October of each year, and in the absence of telegraphs, rail- 
roads, etc., it took about four weeks to hear any definite result from an 
election, and then the result was published with a tail to it, — "Pike, 
Potter, McKean, and Jefferson to hear from.'' It is amusing to recall 

539 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the reason usually given for a defeat at these elections by the unsuccess- 
ful party. It was this: "The day was fine and clear, a good day for 
threshing buckwheat ; therefore our voters failed to turn out. ' ' The 
editor of the defeated party always published this poetic stanza for the 
consolation of his friends : 

" Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers, 
While error, wounded, writhes in pain, 
And dies amidst her worshippers." 

In a Presidential contest we never knew the result with any certainty 
until the 4th of March, or inauguration-day. 

In 1840, according to the census, the United States contained a pop- 
ulation of 17,062,666 people, of which, 2,487,113 were slaves. The em- 
ployments of the people were thus divided: Agriculture, 3,717,756; 
commerce, 117,575; manufactures and trades, 791,545; navigating the 
ocean, 56,025; navigating rivers, canals, etc., 33,067; mining, 15,203; 
learned professions, 65,236. 

The Union then consisted of 26 States, and we had 223 Congress- 
men. The ratio of population for a Congressman was 70,680. In this 
computation five slaves would count as three white men, although the 
slaves were not allowed to vote. Our Territories were populated thus: 
District of Columbia, 43,712; Florida, 54,477; Wisconsin, 30,945; 
Iowa, 43,112. The chief cities and towns were thus populated : 

New York 312,710 

Philadelphia 228,691 

Baltimore 102,313 

New Orleans 102,193 

Boston 93,393 

Cincinnati 46,338 

Brooklyn 35,234 

Albany 33,721 

Charleston 29,261 

Washington 23,364 

Providence 23,171 

Louisville 21,210 

Pittsburg 21,115 

Lowell 20,796 

Rochester 20,191 

Richmond 20,133 

Buffalo 18,210 

Newark 17,293 

St. Louis 16,469 

Portland 15,218 

Salem 16,083 

Brookville 276 

540 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Household or family goods were produced in 1S40 to the amount of 
$29,230,380. 

Total amount of capital employed in manufactures, $267,726,579. 

The whole expenses of the Revolutionary War were estimated, in 
specie, at $135,193,703. 

In 1840 it was the custom for newspapers to publish in one of their 
issues, after the adjournment of the Legislature, a complete list by title of 
all the enactments of that session. 

In the forties fruit was scarce and inferior in these woods, and as 
"boys were boys then" all kinds of means, both fair and foul, were re- 
sorted to by the boys to get a fill of apples. Johnny Lucas, Johnny Jones, 
Yankee Smith, and Mrs. Fuller used to bring apples and peaches into the 
village and retail them out on the street. I have seen this trick played 
frequently on these venders by two boys, — viz. : a boy would go up 
to the wagon, holding his cap with both hands and ask for a sixpence 
worth of apples or peaches. The vender would then count the apples 
and drop them in the cap. The boy would then let go of the cap with 
one hand as if to pay, when boy No. 2 would snatch the cap and 
apples out of his hand and run for dear life down the street and into 
the first alley. The owner of the cap, in apparent anger, would imme- 
diately take after this thief, forget to pay, and in the alley help eat the 
apples. 

In 1840 " shingle weavers" brought their shingles to Brookville to 
barter. A shingle weaver was a man who did not steal timber. He only 
went into the pine-woods and there cut the clearest and best tree 
he could find, and hauled it home to his shanty in blocks, and there 
split and shaved the blocks into shingles. He bartered his shingles 
in this way : he would first have his gallon or two-gallon jug filled with 
whiskey, then take several pounds of Baltimore plug-tobacco, and then 
have the balance coming to him apportioned in New Orleans molasses, 
flitch, and flour. Many a barter of this kind have I billed when acting 
as clerk. 

Timothy Pickering c\: Co., Leroy & Linklain, Welhelm AYillink, 
Jeremiah Parker, Holland Land Company, Robert Morris, Robert Gil- 
more, William Bingham, John Nicholson, Dr. William Cathcart, Dr. 
James Hutchinson, and a few others owned about all the land in Jef- 
ferson County. This goes a great length to disprove the demagogy 
you hear so much nowadays about the (qw owning and gobbling up 
all the land. How many people own a piece of Jefi"erson County 
to-day? 

In 1840 the only newspaper published in Jefferson County was the 
Backwoodsman, published in Brookville by Thomas Hastings & Son. 
Captain John Hastings, who is still living in Punxsutawney, was the son. 
The terms of this paper were one dollar and seventy-five cents in advance, 

541 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

two dollars if paid within the year, and two dollars and fifty cents if not 
paid within the year. Hastings & Son sold the paper to William Jack. 
Jack rented the paper to a practical printer by the name of George F. 
Humes, who continued the publication until after the October election 
in 1843, when he announced in an editorial that his patrons might go to 
h — 11 and he would go to Texas. Barton T. Hastings then bought and 
assumed control of the paper, and published it until 1S46 as the Brookville 
Jefcrsoniati. Mr. Hastings is still living in Brookville. 

I reprint here a large portion of the proceedings of an old-time cele- 
bration of the Fourth of July in 1S43 i^^ Brookville. We copy from the 
Backwoodsman, dated August i, 1843, then edited by George F. Humes. 
The editorial article in the Backwoodsman is copied entire. The oration 
of D. S. Deering, all the regular toasts, and part of the volunteer toasts 
are omitted because of their length. Editor Humes' s article was headed 

"FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. 

" The citizens of Brookville and vicinity celebrated the sixty-seventh 
anniversary of American independence in a spirited and becoming man- 
ner. The glorious day was ushered in by the firing of cannon and ring- 
ing of bells. At an early hour the ' Independent Greens,' commanded 
by Captain Hugh Brady, formed into parade order, making a fine ap- 
pearance, and marched through the principal streets, cheering and en- 
livening the large body of spectators, whose attention appeared to be 
solely drawn to their skilful rehearsals of military tactics ; and, after 
spending some time in a course of drilling, joined the large assembly, 
without distinction of party or feeling, under the organization and direc- 
tion of John McCrea, Esq., president of the day, and Samuel B. Bishop 
and Colonel Thomas Wilkins, marshals; when they proceeded to the 
court-house, where the Declaration of Independence was read in a clear 
and impressive tone by L. B. Dunham, Esq., after which David S. Deer- 
ing, Esq., delivered an address very appropriate to the occasion, touch- 
ing with point and pathos upon the inducements which impelled our 
fathers to raise the flag of war against the mother- country. The com- 
pany then formed into line, and proceeded to the hotel of Mr. George 
McLaughlin, at the head of Main Street, where they sat down to a well- 
served, delicious, and plentiful repast, the ladies forming a smiling and 
interesting ' platoon' on one side of the table, which added much to 
the hilarity of the celebration. After the cloth was removed, and the 
president and committees had taken their seats, a number of toasts 
applicable to the times, and as varied in sentiment as the ages of the mul- 
titude, were offered and read, accompanied by repeated cheering and a 
variety of airs from the brass band, thus passing the day in that union 
and harmony so characteristic of Americans. It was indeed a ' Union 
celebration.' 

542 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"volunteer toasts. 

" By John McCrea. Our Brookville celebration : a union of parties, a 
union of feeling, the union established by our Revolutionary fathers of '76. 
May union continue to mark our course until time shall be no more. 

" By W. W. Corbett. Liberty, regulated by law, and law by the 
virtues of American legislators. 

" By William B. Wilkins. Henry Clay : a man of tried principles, 
of admitted competency, and unsullied integrity, may he be the choice of 
the people for the next Presidency in 1S44. 

" By Evans R. Brady. The Democrats of the Erie district : a form, 
locked lip in the chase of disorganization; well squabbled dX one side by 
the awkward formation of the district. If not locked tight by the side- 
sticks of regular nominations, well driven by the ijuoins of unity, and 
knocked in by the sheep' s foot of pure principles, it will be battered hy the 
points of whiggery, bit by the frisket of self interest ; and when \.\it fore- 
man comes to lift it on the second Tuesday of October, will stand a fair 
chance to be knocked into pi 

" By Michael Woods. Richard M. Johnston, of Kentucky : a states- 
man who has been long and thoroughly tried and never found wanting. 
His nomination for the next Presidency will still the angry waves of politi- 
cal strife, and the great questions which now agitate the nation will be 
settled upon democratic principles. 

"By Hugh Brady. The citizens of Jefferson County: they have 
learned their political rights by experience ; let them practise the lesson 
with prudence. 

" By B. T. Hastings. The Hon. James Buchanan : the Jefferson of 
Pennsylvania and choice for the Presidency in 1S44. His able and 
manly course in the United States Senate on all intricate and important 
subjects entitles him to the entire confidence and support of the whole 
Democracy. 

"By Andrew Craig. Henry Clay : a worthy and honest statesman, 
who has the good of his country at heart, and is well qualified to fill the 
Presidential chair. 

" By A. Hutcheson. American independence: a virtuous old maid, 
sixty-eight years old to-day. God bless her. 

"By David S. Deering. The Declaration of Independence: a rich 
legacy, bequeathed us by our ancestors. May it be transmitted from 
one generation to another until time shall be no more. 

" By the company. The orator of the day, David S. Deering : may 
his course through life be as promising as his commencement. 

" By D. S. Deering. The mechanics of Brookville : their structures 
are enduring monuments of skill, industry, and perseverance. 

"By George F. Humes. The American Union: a well adjusted 

543 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

form of twenty-six pages, fairly locked up in the chase of precision by the 
quoins of good workmen. May their proof-sheets be loell pointed and 
their regular impressions a perfect speciuien for the world to look upon. 

"By John Hastings. James Buchanan; the able defender of the 
rights of the people and the higli wages candidate for the Presidency in 
1844. His elevation to that post is now without a doubt." 

In 1840 the mails were carried on horseback or in stage-coaches. 
Communications of news, business, or affection were slow and uncertain. 
There were no envelopes for letters. Each letter had to be folded so as 
to leave the outside blank and one side smooth, and the address was 
written on this smooth side. Letters were sealed with red wafers, and 
the postage was six and a quarter cents for every hundred miles, or frac- 
tion thereof, over which it was carried in the mails. The postage on a 
letter to Philadelphia was eighteen and three-quarter cents, or three " fip- 
pennybits." You could mail your letter without prepaying the postage 
(a great advantage to economical people), or you could prepay it at your 
option. Postage-stamps were unknown. When you paid the postage the 
postmaster stamped on the letter " Paid." When the postage was to be 
paid by the person addressed, the postmaster marked on it the amount 
due, thus: "Due, 6}{ cents." 

In 1840 nearly half of our American people could neither read nor 
write, and less than half of them had the opportunity or inclination to 
do so. Newspapers were small affairs, and the owners of them were poor 
and their business unprofitable. 

The candles used in our houses were either "dips" or "moulds." 
The "dips" were made by twisting and doubling a number of cotton 
wicks upon a round, smooth stick at a distance from each other of about 
the desired thickness of the candle. Then they were dipped into a kettle 
of melted tallow, when the ends of the sticks were hung on the backs of 
chairs to cool. The dipping and cooling process was thus repeated till 
the " dips" attained the proper thickness. This work was done after the 
fall butchering. " Moulds" were made in tin or pewter tubes, two, four, 
six, eight, ten, or twelve in a frame, joined together, the upper part of 
the frame forming a trough, into which the moulds opened, and from 
which they received the melted tallow. To make the candles, as many 
wicks as there were tubes were doubled over a small round stick i}laced 
across the top of the frame, and these wicks were passed down through 
the tubes and fastened at the lower end. Melted tallow was poured into 
the trough at the top till all the tubes were filled. The moulds were 
usually allowed to stand overnight before the candles were "drawn." 
The possession of a set of candle-moulds by a family was an evidence of 
some wealth. These candles were burned in "candlesticks," made of 
tin, iron, or brass, and each one had a broad, flat base, turned up around 
the rim to catch the grease. Sometimes, when the candle was exposed 

544 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

to a current of air, it would "gutter" all away. A pair of "snuffers," 
made of iron or brass, was a necessary article in every house, and had to 
be used frequently to cut away the charred or burned wick. Candles 
sold in the stores at twelve to fifteen cents per pound. One candle was 
the number usually employed to read or write by, and two were generally 
deemed sufficient to light a store, — one to carry around to do the selling 
by, and the other to stand on the desk to do the charging by. 

Watches were rare, and clocks were not numerous in 1840. The 
watches I remember seeing in those days were " English levers" and 
"cylinder escapements," with some old "bull's-eyes." The clocks in 
use were of the eight-day sort, with works of wood, run by weights 
instead of springs. Along in the forties clocks with brass works, called 
the "brass clock," came into use. A large majority of people were 
without " time pieces." Evening church services were announced thus : 

" There will be preaching in this house on evening, God willing, 

and no preventing providence, at early candle-lighting." 

In 1840 the judge of our court was Alexander McCalmont, of Frank- 
lin, Venango County. Our associate judges from 1841 to 1S43 ^^'ere 
James Winslow and James L. Gillis. Our local or home lawyers were 
Hugh Brady, Cephas J. Dunham, Benjamin Bartholomew, Caleb A. 
Alexander, L. B. Dunham, Richard Arthurs, Elijah Heath, D. B. Jenks, 
Thomas Lucas, D. S. Deering, S. B. Bishop, and Jesse G. Clark. Many 
eminent lawyers from adjoining counties attended our courts regularly 
at this period. They usually came on horseback, and brought their 
papers, etc., in large leather saddle-bags. Most of these foreign lawyers 
were very polite gentlemen, and very particular not to refuse a "drink." 

Moses Knapp, Sr., was our pioneer court crier. Elijah Graham was 
our second court crier, but I think Cyrus Butler served in this capacity 
in 1840. 

In 1840 there was no barber-shop in the town. The tailors then cut 
hair, etc., for the people as an accommodation. My mother used to send 
me for that purpose to McCreight's tailor-shop. The first barber to 
locate in Brookville was a colored man named Nathan Smith. He bar- 
bered and ran a confectionery and oyster saloon. He lived here for a 
number of years, but finally turned preacher and moved away. Some 
high old times occurred in his back room which I had better not men- 
tion here. He operated on the Major Rodgers lot, now the Eddleblute 
property. 

Then "Hollow Eve," as it was called, was celebrated regularly on 
the night of October 31 of every year. The amount of malicious mis- 
chief and destruction done on that evening in Brookville, and patiently 
suffered and overlooked, is really indescribable. The Presidential con- 
test in 1840, between Harrison, ^Vhig, and Van Buren, Democrat, was 
perhaps the most intense and bitter ever known in this nation. 

545 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The first exclusively drug-store in Brookville was opened and managed 
by D. S. Deering, Esq., in 1848. It was located in a building where 
McKnight & Brothers' building now stands, on the spot where McKnight 
& Son carry on their drug business. The first exclusively grocery-store in 
Brookville was opened and owned by W. W. Corbett, and was located in 
the east room of the American Hotel. The first exclusively hardware- 
store in the town was opened and owned by John S. King, now of Clear- 
field, Pennsylvania. Brookville owes much to the sagacity of Mr. King 
for our beautiful cemetery. 

In the forties the boring of pitch-pine into pump-logs was quite a 
business in Brookville. One of the first persons to work at this was 
Charles P. Merriman, who moved here from the East. By the way, Mer- 
riman was the greatest snare-drummer I ever heard. He also manufac- 
tured and repaired drums while here. He had a drum-beat peculiarly 
his own, and with it he could drown out a whole band. He introduced 
his beat by teaching drumming-schools. It is the beat of the Bovvdishes, 
the Bartletts, and the Schnells. It consists of single and double drags. 
I never heard this beat in the army or in any other locality than here, 
and only from persons who had directly or indirectly learned it from Mer- 
riman. Any old citizen can verify the marvellous and wonderful power 
and skill of Merriman with a drum. No pupil of his here ever approached 
him in skill. The nearest to him was the late Captain John Bowling, 
of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. It 
was the custom then for the different bands in the surrounding townships 
to attend the Fourth of July celebrations in Brookville. The INIonger 
band, father and sons, from Warsaw township, used to come. They had 
a peculiar open beat that old Mr. Monger called the 18 12 beat. The 
Belleview band came also. It was the Campbell band, father and sons. 
Andrew C. and James (1895), after going through the war, are still able 
on our public occasions to enliven us with martial strains. The Lucas 
band, from Dowlingville, also visited us in the forties. Brookville had 
a famous fifer in the person of Harvey Clover. He always carried an 
extra fife in his pocket, because he was apt to burst one. When he 
" blowed" the fife you would have thought the devil was in it sure. 

In 1847 the town had water-works, the enterprise of Judge Jared B. 
Evans. The Spring that furnished the water was what is now known as 
the American Spring. The conduit-pipes were bored yellow- pine logs, 
and the plant was quite expensive, but owing to some trouble about the 
tannery, which stood on the spot where the American barn now stands, 
the water-plant was destroyed. Judge Evans was a useful citizen. He 
died some three years ago . 

In 1840 the church collection was either taken up in a hat with a 
handkerchief in it or in a little bag attached to a pole. 

H. Clay Campbell, Esq., has kindly furnished me the legal rights of 

546 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

married women in Pennsylvania from 1S40 until the present date. The 
common law was adopted by Pennsylvania, and has governed all rights 
except those which may have been modified from time to time by statute. 
Blackstone's Commentaries, Book I., page 442, says, "By marriage, the 
husband and wife are one person in law ; that is, the very being or legal 
existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is 
incorporated and consolidated into that of her husband, under whose 
wing, protection, and cover she performs everything." 

You see the rights surrendered by a woman marrying under the com- 
mon law were two : First, the right to make a contract ; secondly, the 
right to property and her own earnings. To compensate for this she 
acquired one right, — the right to be chastised. For as the husband was to 
answer for her misbehavior, the law thought it reasonable to intrust him 
with the power of restraining her, by domestic chastisement, with the 
same moderation that a man is allowed to correct his apprentice or his 
children. 

In 1840 married women had no right to the property bequeathed to 
them by their parents, unless it was put into the hands of a trustee, and 
by marriage the husband became the immediate and absolute owner of 
the personal property of the wife which she had in possession at the time 
of marriage, and this property could never again revert to the wife or 
her representatives. She could acquire no personal property during 
marriage by industry, and if she obtained any by gift or otherwise, 
it became immediately by and through the law the property of her hus- 
band. This condition prevailed until the passage of an act, dated 
nth of April, 1S48, which in some slight degree modified this injustice 
of the common law. By that act it was provided that all property which 
belonged to her before marriage, as well as all that might accrue to her 
afterwards, should remain her property. Then came another modifica- 
tion by the act of 1855, which provided, among other things, that " when- 
ever a husband, from drunkenness, profligacy, or other cause, shall 
neglect or refuse to provide for his wife, she shall have the rights and 
privileges secured to ^.femme-sole trader under the act of 1718." Modi- 
fications have been made from year to year, granting additional privi- 
leges to a wife to manage her own property, among which may be noted 
the act of 1871, enabling her to sell and transfer shares of the stock of a 
railroad company. By the act of May, 1S74, she may draw checks upon 
a bank. During all these years of enlightenment the master has still 
held the wife in the toils of bondage, and it was with great grudging that 
he acknowledged that a married woman had the right to claim anything. 
The right to the earnings of the wife received its first modification when 
the act of April, 1S72, was passed, which granted to the wife, if she 
went into court, and the court granted her petition, the right to claim 
her earnings. But legally the wife remained the most abject of slaves 

547 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

until the passage of the "married woman's personal property act" of 
1887, giving and granting to her the right to contract and acquire prop- 
erty ; and it was not until 1893 that she was granted the same rights as 
an unmarried woman, excepting as to her right to convey her real estate, 
make a mortgage, or become bail. 

The higher education of women in the seminary and college is of 
American origin, and in 1840 there was an occasional young ladies' semi- 
nary here and there throughout the country. These isolated institutions 
were organized and carried on by scattered individuals who had great 
persistency and courage. Being of American origin its greatest progress 
has been here, and at present there are more than two hundred institu- 
tions for the superior education of women in the United States, and fully 
one half of these bear the name of college. The women who graduate 
to-day from colleges and high schools outnumber the men, and as a result 
of this mental discipline and training women are now found throughout 
the world in every profession, in all trades, and in every vocation. 

" Preferring sense from chin that's bare 
To nonsense 'throned in whiskered hair." 

Women are now admitted to the bar in nine different States of the 
Union, and by an act of Congress she may now practise before the 
United States Supreme Court. 

In 1840 women had but one vocation for a livelihood, — viz., marriage 
and housekeeping. Then female suffrage was unknown. To-day (1S95) 
women vote on an equality with men in two States, Colorado and 
AVyoming, and they can vote in a limited form in twenty other States 
and Territories. 

In 1840 women had no religious rights. She did not dare to speak, 
teach, or pray in public, and if she desired any knowledge in this direc- 
tion, she was admonished to ask her husband at home. The only excep- 
tion I know to this rule was in the Methodist Church, which from its 
organization has recognized the right of women to teach, speak in class- 
meetings, and to pray in the public prayer-meeting. 

In 1840 women had no industrial rights. I give below a little ab- 
stract from the census of 1880, fourteen years ago, which will show what 
some of our women were working at then and are working at now. 

FEMALE WORKERS. 

Artists, 2016 ; authors, 320 ; assayists, chemists, and architects, 2136 ; 
barbers, 2902; dress-makers, 281,928; doctors, 2433; journalists, 238; 
lawyers, 75 ; musicians, 13,181 ; preachers, 165 ; printers, 3456; tailors, 
52,098; teachers, 194,375; nurses, 12,294; stock raisers, 216; farmers, 
56,809; in government employ as clerks, 217 1; managing commercial 
and industrial interests, 14,465. And now in 1894 we have 6000 post- 

54S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

mistresses, 10,500 women have secured patents for inventions, and 
300,000 women are in gainful occupations. I confess that this statement 
looks to the intelligent mind as though " the hand that rocks the cradle" 
will soon not only move but own the world. 

The earliest schools established by the settlers of Pennsylvania were 
the home school, the church school, and the public subscription school, 
the most simple and primitive in style. The subscription or public school 
remained in force until the law of 1809 was enacted, which was intended 
for a State system, and which provided a means of education for the 
poor, but retained the subscription character of pay for the rich. This 
1809 system remained in force until 1834. The method of hiring 
"masters" for a subscription school was as follows: A meeting was 
called by public notice in a district. At this gathering the people chose, 
in their own way, three of their number to act as a school committee. 
This committee hired the master and exercised a superintendence over 
the school. The master was paid by the patrons of the school in pro- 
portion to the number of days each had sent a child to school. A rate- 
bill was made out by the master and given to the committee, who col- 
lected the tuition-money and paid it to the master. The terms of these 
schools were irregular, but usually were for three months. 

The studies pursued were spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic. 
The daily programme was two or four reading lessons, two spelling les- 
sons, — one at noon and one at evening, — the rest of the time being de- 
voted to writing and doing "sums" in arithmetic. It was considered at 
that time (and even as late as my early schooling) that it was useless and 
foolish for a girl to learn more at school than to spell, read, and write. 
Of course there was no uniformity in text-books. The child took to the 
school whatever book he had, hence there was, and could be, no classifi- 
cation. Black-boards were unknown. When any information was wanted 
about a " sum," the scholar either called the master or took his book and 
went to him. 

The first school-master in Jefferson County was John Dixon. His first 
term was for three months, and was in the year 1803 or 1804. The first 
school-house was built on the Ridgway road, two miles from Brookville, 
on the farm now owned by D. B. McConnell. I give Professor Blose's 
description of this school-house : 

"The house was built of rough logs, and had neither window-sash 
nor pane. The light was admitted through chinks in the wall, over which 
greased paper was pasted. The floor was made with puncheons, and the 
seats from broad pieces split from logs, with pins in the under side, for 
legs. Boards laid on pins fastened in the wall furnished the pupils with 
writing-desks. A log fireplace, the entire length of one end, supplied 
warmth when the weather was cold." 

The era of these log school- houses in Jefferson County is gone, — gone 

549 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

forever. We have now (1895) school property to the value of $269,300. 
We have 196 modern school-houses, with 262 school-rooms, 295 schools, 
and the Bible is read in 251 of these. There is no more master' s call in 
the school-room, but we have 131 female and 149 male teachers, — a total 
of 280 teachers in the county. The average yearly term is six and a half 
months. The average salary for male teachers is $39 50, and for female 
teachers, $33. Total wages received by teachers each year, $64,913.20. 
Number of female scholars, 5839 ; number of male scholars, 6073. The 
amount of tax levied for school purposes is $56,688.23. Received by 
county from State appropriation, $42,759.72. 

The act of 1809 made it the duty of assessors to receive the names of 
all children between the ages of five and twelve years whose parents were 
unable to pay for their schooling, and these poor children were to be 
educated by the county. This law was very unpopular, and the schools 
did not prosper. The rich were opposed to this law because they paid 
all the tax-bills, and the poor were opposed to it because it created a 
" caste" and designated them as paupers. However, it remained in force 
for about twenty-five years, and during this period the fight over it at 
elections caused many strifes, feuds, and bloody noses. This was the 
first step taken by the State to evolve our present free-school system. 
The money to pay for the education of these "pauper" children was 
drawn from the county in this way: "The assessor of each borough or 
township returned the names of such indigent children to the county 
commissioners, and then an order was drawn by the commissioners on 
the county treasurer for the tuition-money." 

One of the most desirable qualifications in the early school-master 
was courage, and willingness and ability to control and flog boys. Physi- 
cal force was the governing power, and the master must possess it. Never- 
theless, many of the early masters were men of intelligence, refinement, 
and scholarship. As a rule, the Scotch-Irish master was of this class. 
Goldsmith describes the old master well : 

" He was kindly, and if severe in aught, 
The love he bore to learning was in fault. 
The village all declared how much he knew, 
'Twas certain he could write and cipher, too. 
In arguing the parson owned his skill, 
For e'en though vanquished he would argue still." 

The government of the early masters was of the most rigorous kind. 
Perfect quiet had to be maintained in the school-room, no buzzing, and 
the punishment for supposed or real disobedience, inflicted on scholars 
before, up to, and even in my time, was cruel and brutal. One punish- 
ment was to tie scholars up by the thumbs, suspending them in this way 
over the door. "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was the master's 

550 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEP^FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

slogan. Whippings were frequent, severe, and sometimes brutal. Thorn, 
birch, and other rods were kept in large number by the master. Other 
and milder modes of punishment were in vogue, such as the dunce-block, 
sitting with the girls, pulling the ears, and using the ferule on the hands 
and sometimes on the part of the body on which the scholar sat. 

" What is man, 
If his chief good and market for his time 
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more." 

In 1840 the country master boarded round with the scholars, and he 
was always given the best bed in the house, and was usually fed on dough- 
nuts and pumpkin-pie at every meal. He called the school to order by 
rapping on his desk with his ferule. 

During the twenty-five years of the existence of the pauper schools 
the agitation for a better system was continually kept up by isolated in- 
dividuals. This was done in various ways, — at elections, in toasts to a 
" free-school system" at Fourth of July celebrations, and in conventions 
of directors. The first governor who took a decided stand in favor of the 
common schools was John A. Schultze. He advocated it in his message 
in 182S. Governor Wolf, in 1833, found that out of four hundred thou- 
sand school children of the legal age, twenty thousand attended school, 
and that three hundred and eighty thousand were yearly uninstructed. 
Therefore, in his message to the Legislature, he strongly recommended 
the passage of a law to remedy this state of affairs. William Audenreid, 
a senator from Schuylkill County, introduced a bill during the session 
of the Legislature of 1S33, which became what is known as the school 
law of 1S34, — the establishment of the common-school system. Our 
second State superintendent of public instruction was appointed under 
this law. His name was Thomas H. Burrowes. The first State aid for 
schools in Jefferson County was in 1835, and through Mr. Burrowes. The 
amount received was one hundred and four dollars and ninety-four cents. 

" Barring the master out" of the school-room on Christmas and New 
Year's was a custom in vogue in 1840. The barring was always done by 
four or five determined boys. The contest between the master and these 
scholars was sometimes severe and protracted, the master being deter- 
mined to get into the school-room and these boys determined to keep 
him out. The object on the part of the scholars in this barring out was 
to compel the master to treat the school. If the master obtained posses- 
sion of the school-room, by force or strategy, he generally gave the boys 
a sound flogging, but if the boys "held the fort," it resulted in negotia- 
tions for peace, and in the master eventually signing an agreement in 
writing to treat the school to apples, nuts, or candy. It took great nerve 
on the part of the boys to take this stand against a master. I know this, 
as I have been active in some of these contests. 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In 1S40 a woman could teach an A, B, C, or "a-b ab," school in 
summer, but the man that desired to teach a summer school was a lazy, 
worthless, good-for-nothing fellow. Cyrus Crouch taught the first term 
in Brookville under the common school law of 1834. 

In the forties the school-books in use were the New England Primer, 
Webster's Spelling- Book, Cobb's Spelling-Book, the English Reader, 
the New England Reader, the Testament and Bible, the Make Braun 
Geography, Olney's Geography, Pike's Arithmetic, the Federal Calcula- 
tor, the Western Calculator, Murray's Grammar, Kirkham's Grammar, 
and Walker's Dictionary. A scholar who had gone through the single 
rule of three in the Western Calculator was considered educated. Our 
present copy-books were unknown. A copy-book was then made of six 
sheets of foolscap-paper stitched together. The copies were set by the 
master after school hours, at which time he usually made and mended the 
school pens for the next day. Our pens were made of goose-quills, and 
it was the duty of the master to teach each scholar how to make or mend 
a goose quill pen. One of the chief delights of a mischievous boy in 
those days was to keep a master busy mending his pens. 

The first school-house in Brookville that I recollect of was a little brick 
on the alley on the northeast side of the American Hotel lot. Mrs. Pearl 
Roundy was the first teacher that I went to. She taught in this house. 
She was much beloved by the whole town. I afterwards went to Hamlin 
and others in this same house. 

When the first appropriation of seventy-five thousand dollars was 
made by our State for the common schools, a debt of twenty- three mil- 
lion dollars rested on the Commonwealth. A great many good, conser- 
vative men opposed this appropriation, and "predicted bankruptcy from 
this neta form of extravagance." But the great debt has been all paid, 
the expenses of the war for the Union have been met, and now (1895) the 
annual appropriation for our schools has been raised to five and a half 
million dollars. This amount due the schools for the year ending June 
5, 1893, was all paid on November i, 1893, and our State treasurer had 
deposits still left, lying idle, in forty-six of our banks, amounting to six 
and a half million dollars, which should have been appropriated for 
school purposes and not kept lying idle. This additional appropriation 
would have greatly relieved the people from oppressive taxation during 
these hard times. 

The act of May 18, 1893, completed the evolution in our school sys- 
tem from the early home, the church, the subscription, the 1809 pau])er, 
the 1834 common, into the now people's ox free school system. 

This free school is our nation's hope. Our great manufacturing inter- 
ests attract immigrants to our land in large numbers, and to thoroughly 
educate their children and form in them the true American mind, and to 
prevent these children from drifting into the criminal classes, will task to 

552 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the utmost all the energies, privileges, and blessed conditions of our 
present free schools. In our free schools of Pennsylvania the conditions 
are now equal. The child of the millionaire, the mechanic, the widow, 
and the day laborer all stand on the same plane. We have now, for the 
first time in the history of our State, in addition to the free school- 
houses, free desks, free fuel, free black-boards, free maps, free teachers, 
free books, free paper, free pens, free ink, free slates, free pencils, free 
sponges, and, in short, free schools. 

In 1840 our houses and hotels were never locked at night. This was 
from carelessness, or perhaps thought to be unnecessary. But every 
store-window was provided with heavy outside shutters, which were care- 
fully closed, barred, or locked every night in shutting up. 

Then every merchant in Brookville was forced, as a matter of protec- 
tion, to subscribe for and receive a weekly bank-note detecter. These 
periodicals were issued to subscribers for two dollars and fifty cents a 
year. This journal gave a weekly report of all broken banks, the dis- 
count on all good bank-notes, as well as points for the detection of coun- 
terfeit notes and coin. The coin department in the journal had wood- 
cut pictures of all the foreign and native silver and gold coins, and also 
gave the value of each. 

Money was scarce then, and merchants were compelled to sell their 
goods on credit, and principally for barter. The commodities that were 
exchanged for in Brookville stores were boards, shingles, square timber, 
wheat, rye, buckwheat, flaxseed, clover-seed, timothy-seed, wool, rags, 
beeswax, feathers, hickory-nuts, chestnuts, hides, deer-pelts, elderberries, 
furs, road orders, school and county orders, eggs, butter, tow cloth, linen 
cloth, axe-handles, rafting bows and pins, rafting grubs, maple-sugar in 
the spring, and oats after harvest. 

In those days everybody came to court, either on business or to see 
and be seen. Tuesday was the big day. The people came on horse- 
back or on foot. We had no book-store in town, and a man named 
Ingram, from Meadville, came regularly every court and opened up his 
stock in the bar-room of a hotel. An Irishman by the name of Hugh 
Miller came in the same way, and opened his jewelry and spectacles in 
the hotel bar-room. This was the time for insurance agents to visit our 
town. Robert Thorn was the first insurance agent who came here, at 
least to my knowledge. 

In 1S40 every store in town kept pure Monongahela whiskey in a 
bucket, either on or behind the counter, with a tin cup in or over the 
bucket for customers to drink free of charge, early and often. Every 
store sold whiskey by the gallon. Our merchants kept chip logwood by 
the barrel, and kegs of madder, alum, cobalt, copperas, indigo, etc., for 
women to use in coloring their homespun goods. Butternuts were used 
by the women to dye brown, peach-leaves or smartweed for yellow, and 
36 553 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

cobalt for purple. Men's and women's clothing consisted principally of 
homespun, and homespun underwear. Men and boys wore warmusses, 
roundabouts, and pants made of flannels, buckskin, Kentucky jean, blue 
drilling, tow, linen, satinet, bed-ticking, and corduroy, with coon-skin, 
seal-skin, and cloth caps, and in summer oat-straw or chip hats. The 
dress suit was a blue broadcloth swallow-tail coat with brass buttons, and 
a stove-pipe hat. " Galluses" were made of listing, bed-ticking, or knit 
of woollen yarn. Women wore barred flannel, linsey-woolsey, tow, and 
linen dresses. Six or eight yards of "Dolly Varden" calico made a 
superb Sunday dress. Calico sold then for fifty cents a yard. Every 
home had a spinning-wheel, some families had two, — a big one and a 
little one. Spinning-parties were in vogue, the women taking their wheels 
to a neighbor's house, remaining for supper, and after supper going home 
with their wheels on their arms. Wool- carding was then done by hand 
and at home. Every neighborhood had several weavers, and they wove 
for customers at so much per yard. 

About 1840, Brookville had a hatter, — John Wynkoop. He made 
what was called wool hats. Those that were high-crowned or stove-pipe 
were wreath-bound with some kind of fur, perhaps rabbit-fur. These 
hatters were common in those days. The sign was a stove-pipe hat and 
a smoothing-iron. There was a standing contest between the tailors, 
hatters, and printers in drinking whiskey (doctors barred). 

Then, too, coopers were common in every town. These coopers 
made tubs, buckets, and barrels, all of which were bound with hickory 
hoops. Ours was a Mr. Hewitt. His shop was on the alley, rear of the 
Commercial Hotel lot. These are now two lost industries. 

In 1 840 there was but one dental college in the world, — the Baltimore 
College of Dental Surgery, established in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1839, 
— the first dental college ever started. Up to and in that day dentistry 
was not a science, for it was practised as an addenda by the blacksmith, 
barber, watch-maker, and others. In the practice no anatomical or sur- 
gical skill was required. It was something that required muscular strength 
and manual dexterity in handling the " turnkey." With such a clumsy, 
rude condition of dentistry, is it any wonder that Tom Moore wrote these 

lines ? 

" What pity, blooming girl, that lips so ready for a lover, 
Should not beneath their ruby casket cover one tooth of pearl, 
But like a rose beneath a churchyard stone, 
Be doomed to blush o'er many a mouldering bone." 

All the great discoveries and improvements in the science and art of 
dentistry as it is to-day are .\merican. Dentistry stands an American in- 
stitution, not only beautified, but almost perfected upon a firm pedestal, 
a most noble science. Through the invention, by Charles W. Peale, of 
Philadelphia, of porcelain teeth, our molars shall henceforth be white as 

554 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

milk. If Moore lived to-day, under the condition of American dentistry, 
he might well exclaim, in the language of Akenside, — 

" What do I kiss ? A woman's mouth, 
Sweeter than the spiced winds from the south." 

In 1796, when Andrew Barnett trod on the ground where Brookville 
now stands, slavery existed throughout all Christendom. Millions of 
men, women, and children were held in the legal condition of horses and 
cattle. Worse than this, the African slave-trade — a traffic so odious and 
so loudly reproved and condemned by the laws of religion and of nature — 
was carried on as a legal right by slave-dealers in and from every Chris- 
tian nation. The horror with which this statement of facts must strike 
you is only proof that the love of gold and the power of evil in the world 
is most formidable. The African slave-trade was declared illegal and un- 
lawful by England in 1806-7, ^Y the United States in 1S08, by Denmark, 
Portugal, and Chili in 181 1, by Sweden in 1813, by Holland in 1814-15, 
by France in 1815, and by Spain in 1822. 

When Andrew Barnett first trod the ground where Brookville now 
stands the curse of slavery rested on Pennsylvania, for in that year three 
thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven human beings were considered 
" property" within her borders and held as slaves. 

" Chains him and tasks him, and exacts his sweat 
With stripes, that Mercy with a bleeding heart 
Weeps when she sees it inflicted on a beast." 

In 1840 slavery still existed in Pennsylvania, the total number being 
75, distributed, according to the census of that year, as follows: Adams 
County, 2 ; Berks, 2 ; Cumberland, 25 ; Lancaster, 2 ; Philadelphia, 2 ; 
York, I ; Greene, i ; Juniata, i ; Luzerne, i ; Mifflin, 31 ; LTnion, 3; 
Washington, 2 ; AA^estmoreland, i ; Fayette, i. 

It will be seen there was no slave held or owned in Jefferson County. 
There is not to-day a slave in all Christendom, after a struggle of nearly 
two thousand years. 

" Little by little the world grows strong, 
Fighting the battle of Right and Wrong. 
Little by little the Wrong gives way ; 
Little by little the Right has sway ; 
Little by little the seeds we sow 
Into a beautiful yield will grow." 

In 1840, according to the census, there were fifty-seven colored people 
and no slaves in Jefferson County. The most prominent of these colored 
people who lived in and around Brookville were Charles Sutherland, 
called Black Charley ; Charles Anderson, called Yellow Charley ; John 

555 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Sweeney, called Black John ; and George Hays, the fiddler. Charles 
Sutherland came to Jefferson County and settled near Brookville in 1812. 
He came from Virginia, and was said to have held General Washington's 
horse at the laying of the corner-stone of the national capitol at Wash- 
ington. He was a very polite man, a hard drinker, reared a family, and 
died in 1852, at the advanced age of nearly one hundred years. 

Charley always wore a stove-pipe hat with a colored cotton handker- 
chief in it. He loafed much in Clover's store. The late Daniel Smith 
was a young man then, and clerked in this store. Mr. Smith in his 
manhood built the property now owned and occupied by Harry Matson. 
Charley Sutherland, if he were living now, would make a good Con- 
gressman, because he was good on appropriations. One day there was 
no one in the store but Smith and Charley. There was a crock of eggs 
on the counter. Smith had to go to the cellar, and left the store in the 
charge of Charley. On returning he glanced in the direction of the 
eggs, and discovered that Charley must have pilfered about a dozen of 
them. Where were they? He surmised they must be in Charley's hat ; 
so stepping in front of Sutherland, he brought his right fist heavily down 
on his hat, with the exclamation, " Why the h — 11 don't you wear your 
hat on your head?" Much to the amusement of Smith and the discom- 
fort of Sutherland, the blow broke all the eggs, and the white and yellow 
contents ran down over Charley's face and clothes, making a striking 
contrast with his sooty black face. 

The lives of many good men and women have been misunderstood 
and clouded by the thoughtless, unkind words and deeds of their neigh- 
bors. Good men and women have struggled hard and long, only to go 
down, down, poisoned and persecuted all their days by the venomous 
and vicious slanders of their neighbors ; while, strange to say, men and 
women who are guilty of all the vices are frequently apologized for, re- 
spected, and are great favorites with these same neighbors. 

Charles Anderson, or, as he was called, "Yellow Charley," came to 
Brookville in May, 1831. From his first entry into the town until his 
death he was a public and familiar character, a kind of family visitor. He 
was the pioneer coal merchant. He was the first man to mine, transport, 
and sell coal in this city. He mined his coal on what is now the John 
Matson property, opposite Samuel Truby's, on the Sigel road, and also on 
the Clements farm. He dug this coal from the spring ravine where our 
school building receives its supply of water. The vein of this mine was 
about two feet thick. Anderson stripped the earth from the top of the 
vein, dug the coal fine, and transported it in a little, old, rickety one- 
horse wagon, offering, selling, and retailing the coal at each family door 
in quantities of a peck, half-bushel, and bushel. The price per bushel was 
twelve and a half cents, or an eleven-penny bit, and a fippenny bit for a half- 
bushel. I had a free pass on this coal line, and rode on it a great deal. 

556 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

To me it was a line of "speed, safety, and comfort." Anderson was a 
" Soft Coal King," a baron, a robber, a close corporationist, a capitalist, 
and a monopolist. He managed his works generally so as to avoid 
strikes, etc. Yet he had to assume the role of a Pinkerton or a coal 
policeman at one time, for "there was some litigation over the owner- 
ship of this coal-bank, and Charley took his old flint-lock musket one 
day and swore he would just as soon die in the coal-bank as any other 
place. He held the fort, too." 

Charley was a greatly abused man. Every theft and nearly all out- 
lawry was blamed on him. Public sentiment and public clamor were 
against him. He tried at times to be good, attend church, etc., but it 
availed Jiim nothing, for he would be so coldly received as to force him 
back into his former condition. As the town grew and other parties 
became engaged in mining coal, Charley changed his business to that of 
water-carrier, and hauled in his one-horse wagon washing- and cooking- 
water in barrels for the women of the town. He continued in this business 
until his death, which occurred in 1874. In early days he lived on the 
lot now owned by Dr. T. C. Lawson. He died in his own home, near 
the new cemetery. 

It is unfortunate enough in these days to have been painted black by 
our Creator, but in 1840 it was a terrible calamity. A negro then had 
no rights ; he was nothing but a " d — d nigger ;" anybody and everybody 
had a right to abuse, beat, stone, and maltreat him. This right, too, was 
pretty generally exercised. I have seen a white bully deliberately step 
up in front of a negro, in a public street, and with the exclamation, 
" Take that, you d — d nigger !" knock him down, and this, too, without 
any cause, word, or look from the negro. This was done only to exhibit 
what the ruffian could do. Had the negro, even after this outrage, said 
a word in his own defence, the cry would have been raised, " Kill the 
d — d nigger !" I have seen negro men stoned into Red Bank Creek, for 
no crime, by a band of young ruffians. I have seen a house in Brook- 
ville borough, occupied by negro women and children, stoned until every 
window was broken and the door mashed in, and all this for no crime 
save that they were black. It used to make my blood boil, but I was 
too little to even open my mouth. A sorry civilization this, was it not ? 

The accompanying cut represents Brookville as I first recollect it, — 
from 1840 to 1843, — a town of shanties, and containing a population of 
two hundred and forty people. It is made from a pencil sketch drawn on 
the ground in 1840. It is not perfect, like a photograph would make it 
now. To understand this view of Main Street, imagine yourself in the 
middle of the pike then, street now, opposite the Union or McKinley 
Hotel, and looking eastward. The first thing that strikes your attention is 
a team of horses hauling a stick of timber over a newly laid hewed log 
bridge. This bridge was laid over the deep gully that can be now seen in 

557 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

G. B. Carrier's lot. Looking to the left side of the street, the first build- 
ing, the gable end of which you see, was the Presbyterian church, then out- 
side of the west line of the borough. The next, or little house, was Jimmie 
Lucas's blacksmith shop. The large house with the paling fence was the 
residence and office of John Gallagher, Esq., and is now the Judge Clark 
property. The next house was east of Barnett Street, and the Peace and 




Brookville, 1843. 



Poverty Hotel. East of this hotel you see the residence and tailor- shop 
of Benjamin McCreight. Then you see a large two- story house, which 
stood where the Commercial Hotel now stands. This building was 
erected by John Clements, and was known as the Clements property. 
Then there was nothing until you see the court-house, with its belfry, 
standing out, two stories high, bold and alone. East of this and across 
Pickering Street, where Harry Matson now resides, was a large frame 
building, occupied by James Craig as a store-room for cabinet work. 
Rev. Gara Bishop resided here for a long time. Next to this, where 
Guyther & Henderson's store now stands, were several brick business 
buildings belonging to Charles Evans. Next came Major William 
Rodgers's store, on what is now the Edelblute property. Then came Jesse 
G. Clark's home ; then the Jefferson House (Phil. Allgeier's house) ; and 
the present building is the original, but somewhat altered. Then across the 
alley, where Gregg's barber-shop now is, was the Elkhorn, or Red Lion 
Hotel, kept by John Smith, who was sheriff of the county in 1840. The 
next house was on the Mrs. Clements property, and was the home and 
blacksmith-shop of Isaac Allen. Then came the Matson row, just as it 

558 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

is now down to the Plrownlee house, northeast corner of Main and Mill 
Streets. 

Now please come back and look down the right-hand side. The 
first building, the rear end of which only can be seen behind the tree, 
was the first foundry built in town. It stood near or on the ground 
where Fetzer's brick building now stands, and was built and owned by a 
man named Coleman. It was afterwards the Evans foundry. When built 
it was outside the borough. The second house, with the gable next the 
street, was the home of James Corbett, Esq., father of Colonel Corbett, 
and it stood where the gas-office now is. The next and large building, 
with the gable-end next the street, was called the James Hall Building, 
and stood on the ground now occupied by the Bishop Buildings. This 
building was used for day-school and singing-school purposes. I went to 
day-school here to Miss Jane Clark then, now Mrs. E. H. Darrah. It 
was also used by a man named Wynkoop, who made beaver hats. The 
next building was a house erected by a Mr. Sharpe, and was located on 
the lot west of where the National Bank of Brookville now stands. The 
building having the window in the gable-end facing you was the Jack 
Building, and stood on the ground now occupied by McKnight &: Son 
in their drug business. Elast of this, on the ground now occupied by R. 
M. Matson's brick, stood a little frame building, occupied by John 
Heath, Jr. It cannot be seen. East and across Pickering Street you 
see the Franklin House and its sign. Here now stands the Central 
Hotel of S. B. Arthurs. East of the Franklin House, but not distinctly 
shown on the picture, were the houses of Craig, Waigley, Thomas M. 
Barr, Levi G. Clover, Mrs. Mary McKnight, Snyder's row, and Billy 
McCullough's house and shop, situate on the corner of Main and Mill 
Streets, or where the Baptist church now stands. 

The buildings on each side of Pickering Street, east of the court- 
house, you will see, are not very plain or distinct on the picture. 



559 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

CORNPLANTER — OUR CHIEF — CHIEF OF THE SENECAS, ONE OF THE SIX 

NATIONS BRIEF HISTORY SOME SPEECHES LIFE AND DEATH MOSES 

KNAPP SAW-MILLS — JOHN JONES. 

In the year 1784 the treaty to which Cornplanter was a party was 
made at Fort Stanwix, ceding the whole of Northwestern Pennsylvania to 
the Commonwealth, with the exception of a small individual reserve to 
Cornplanter. The frontier, however, was not at peace for some years 
after that, nor, indeed, until Wayne's treaty in 1795. 

Notwithstanding his bitter hostility, while the war continued, he be- 
came the fast friend of the United States when once the hatchet was 
buried. His sagacious intellect comprehended at a glance the growing 
power of the United States, and the abandonment with which Great 
Britain had recjuited the fidelity of the Senecas. He therefore threw all 
his influence at the treaty of Fort Stanwix, now Rome, New York, and 
Fort Harmar in favor of peace. And notwithstanding the large con- 
cessions which he saw his people were necessitated to make, still, by his 
energy and prudence in the negotiation, he retained for them an ample 
and beautiful reservation. For the course which he took on those occa- 
sions the State of Pennsylvania granted him the fine reservation upon 
which he resided on the Allegheny. The Senecas, however, were never 
satisfied with his course in relation to these treaties, and Red Jacket, 
more artful and eloquent than his elder rival, but less frank and honest, 
seized upon this circumstance to promote his own popularity at the ex- 
pense of Cornplanter. 

Having buried the hatchet, Cornplanter sought to make his talents 
useful to his people by conciliating the good will of the whites and se- 
curing from further encroachment the little remnant of his national 
domain. On more than one occasion, when some reckless and blood- 
thirsty whites on the frontier had massacred unoffending In'lians in cold 
blood, did Cornplanter interfere to restrain the vengeance of his people. 
During all the Indian wars from 1791 to 1794, which terminated with 
Wayne's treaty, Cornplanter pledged himself that the Senecas should 
remain friendly to the United States. He often gave notice to the garri- 
son at Fort Franklin of intended attacks from hostile parties, and even 
hazarded his life on a mediatorial mission to the Western tribes. 

The following is an extract from a speech of Cornplanter to repre- 
sentatives of the United States government appointed to meet him at 
Fort Franklin, 8th of March, 1796: 

560 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" 'I thank the Ahnighty for giving us luck to meet together at this 
time, and in this place as brethren, and hope my brothers will assist me 
in writing to Congress what I have now to say. 

" 'I thank the Almighty that I am speaking this good day. I have 
been through all Nations in America, and am sorry to see the folly of 
many of the people. What makes me sorry is they all tell lies, and I 
never found truth amongst them. All the western Nations of Indians, 
as well as white people, have told me lies. Even in Council I have 
been deceived, and been told things which I have told to my chiefs and 
young men, which I have found not to be so, which makes me tell lies by 
not being able to make good my word, but I hope they will all see their 
folly and repent. The Almighty has not made us to lie, but to tell the 
truth one to another, for when two people meet together, if they lie one 
to the other, them people cannot be at peace, and so it is with nations, 
and that is the cause of so much war. 

" ' General Washington, the father of us all, hear what I have now 
to say, and take pity on us poor people. The Almighty has blest you, 
and not us. He has given you education, which enables you to do many 
things that we cannot do. You can travel by sea as well as by land, and 
know what is doing in any other country, which we poor people know 
nothing about. Therefore you ought to pity us. When the Almighty 
first put us on this land he gave it to us to live on. And when the white 
people first came to it they were very poor, and we helped them all in 
our power ; did not kill them, but received them as brothers. And now 
it appears to me as though they were agoing to leave us in distress.' " — 
Pennsylvania Archives. 

"After peace was permanently established between the Indians and 
the United States, Cornplanter retired from public life and devoted his 
labors to his own people. He deplored the evils of intemperance, and 
exerted himself to suppress it. The benevolent efforts of missionaries 
among his tribe always received his encouragement, and at one time his 
own heart seemed to be softened by the words of truth, yet he preserved 
in his later years many of the peculiar notions of the Indian faith. 

"■ In 1821-22 the commissioners of Warren County assumed the right 
to tax the private property of Cornplanter, and proceeded to enforce its 
collection. The old chief resisted it, conceiving it not only unlawful, 
but a personal indignity. The sheriff again appeared with a small posse 
of armed men. Cornplanter took the deputation to a room around 
which were ranged about a hundred rifles, and, with the sententious brevity 
of an Indian, intimated that for each rifle a warrior would appear at his 
call. The sheriff and his men speedily withdrew, determined, however, 
to call out the militia. Several prudent citizens, fearing a sanguinary 
collision, sent for the old chief in a friendly way to come to Warren and 
compromise the matter. He came, and after some persuasion, gave his 

561 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

note for the tax, amounting to forty-three dollars and seventy-nine cents. 
He addressed, however, a remonstrance to the governor of Pennsylvania, 
soliciting a return of his money and an exemption from such demands 
against lands which the State itself had presented to him. The Legislature 
annulled the tax, and sent two commissioners to explain the affair to him. 
He met them at the court-house in Warren, on which occasion he deliv- 
ered the following speech, eminently characteristic of himself and his race : 

"'Brothers, yesterday was appointed for us all to meet here. The 
talk which the governor sent us pleased us very much. I think that the 
Great Spirit is very much pleased that the white people have been in- 
duced so to assist the Indians as they have done, and that he is pleased 
also to see the great men of this State and of the United States so friendly 
to us. We are much pleased with what has been done. 

" ' The Great Spirit first made the world, and next the flying animals, 
and found all things good and prosperous. He is immortal and ever- 
lasting. After finishing the flying animals, he came down on earth and 
there stood. Then he made different kinds of trees and weeds of all 
sorts, and people of every kind. He made the spring and other seasons 
and the weather suitable for planting. These he did make. But stills to 
make whiskey to be given to the Indians he did not make. The Great 
Spirit bids me tell the white people not to give Indians this kind of 
liquor. When the Great Spirit had made the earth and its animals, he 
went into the great lakes, where he breathed as easily as anywhere else, 
and then made all the different kinds of fish. The Great Spirit looked 
back on all that he had made. The different kinds he had made to be 
separate and not to mix with or disturb each other. But the white peo- 
ple have broken his command by mixing their color with the Indians. 
The Indians have done better by not doing so. The Great Spirit wishes 
that all wars and fightings should cease. 

"'He next told us that there were three things for our people to 
attend to. First, we ought to take care of our wives and children. Sec- 
ondly, the white people ought to attend to their farms and cattle. 
Thirdly, the Cireat Spirit has given the bears and deers to the Indians. 
He is the cause of all things that exist, and it is very wicked to go 
against his will. The Great Spirit wishes me to inform the people that 
they should quit drinking intoxicating drink, as being the cause of disease 
and death. He told us not to sell any more of our lands, for he never sold 
lands to any one. Some of us now keep the seventh day, but I wish to quit 
it, for the Great Spirit made it for others, but not for the Indians, who 
ought every day to attend to their business. He has ordered me to quit 
drinking intoxicating drink, and not to lust after any woman but my own, 
and informs me that by doing so 1 should live the longer. He made 
known to me that it is very wicked to tell lies. Let no one suppose this 
I have said now is not true. 

562 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" ' I have now to thank the governor for what he has done. I have 
informed him what the Great Spirit has ordered me to cease from, and I 
wish the governor to inform others what I have communicated. This is 
all I have at present to say.' " — Day' s Recollections. 

The old chief appears after this again to have fallen into entire seclu- 
sion, taking no part even in the politics of his people. He died at his 
residence on the yth of March, 1836, at the age of one hundred and four 
years. " Whether at the time of his death he expected to go to the fair 
hunting-grounds of his own people or to the heaven of the Christian is 
not known." 

" Notwithstanding his profession of Christianity, Cornplanter was very 
superstitious. ' Not long since,' says Mr. Foote, of Chautauqua County, 
' he said the Good Spirit had told him not to have anything to do with 
the white people, or even to preserve any mementos or relics that had 
been given to him from time to time by the pale-faces, whereupon, among 
other things, he burnt up his belt and broke his elegant sword.' " 

In reference to the personal appearance of Cornplanter at the close of 
his life, a writer in the Democratic Arch (Venango County) says, — 

" I once saw the aged and venerable chief, and had an interesting in- 
terview with him about a year and a half before his death. I thought 
of many things when seated near him, beneath the wide-spreading shade 
of an old sycamore, on the banks of the Allegheny, — many things to ask 
him, the scenes of the Revolution, the generals that fought its battles 
and conquered, the Indians, his tribe, the Six Nations, and himself. He 
was constitutionally sedate, was never observed to smile, much less to 
indulge in the luxury of a laugh. When I saw him he estimated his 
age to be over one hundred ; I think one hundred and three was about 
his reckoning of it. This would make him near one hundred and five 
years old at the time of his decease. His person was stooped, and his 
stature was far short of what it once had been, not being over five feet 
six inches at the time I speak of. Mr. John Struthers, of Ohio, told me, 
some years since, that he had seen him near fifty years ago, and at that 
period he was at his height, — viz., six feet one inch. Time and hard- 
ship had made dreadful impressions upon that ancient form. The chest 
was sunken and his shoulders were drawn forward, making the upper 
part of his body resemble a trough. His limbs had lost size and become 
crooked. His feet (for he had taken off his moccasins) were deformed 
and haggard by injury. I would say that most of the fingers on one 
hand were useless ; the sinews had been severed by the blow of a toma- 
hawk or scalping-knife. How I longed to ask him what scene of blood 
and strife had thus stamped the enduring evidence of its existence upon 
his person ! But to have done so would, in all probability, have put an 
end to all further conversation on any subject. The information desired 
would certainly not have been received, and I had to forego my curiosity. 

563 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

He had but one eye, and even the socket of the lost organ was hid by 
the overhanging brow resting upon the high cheek-bone. His remaining 
eye was of the brightest and blackest hue. Never have I seen one, in 
young or old, that equalled it in brilliancy. Perhaps it had borrowed 
lustre from the eternal darkness that rested on its neighboring orbit. His 
ears had been dressed in the Indian mode, all but the outside ring had 
been cut away. On the one ear this ring had been torn asunder near the 
top, and hung down his neck like a useless rag. He had a full head of 
hair, white as the driven snow, which covered a head of ample dimensions 
and admirable shape. His face was not swarthy, but this may be ac- 
counted for from the fact, also, that he was but half Indian. He told me 
he had been at Franklin more than eighty years before the period of our 
conversation, on his passage down the Ohio and Mississippi with the 
warriors of his tribe, in some expedition against the Creeks or Osages. 
He had long been a man of peace, and I believe his great characteristics 
were humanity and truth. It is said that Brandt and Cornplanter were 
never friends after the massacre of Cherry Valley. Some have alleged, 
because the ^Vyoming massacre was perpetrated by Senecas, that Corn- 
planter was there. Of the justice of this suspicion there are many reasons 
for doubt. It is certain that he was not the chief of the Senecas at that 
time. The name of the chief in that expedition was Ge-en-quah-toh, or 
He-goes-in-the-smoke. As he stood before me — the ancient chief in 
ruins — how forcibly was I struck with the truth of that beautiful figure of 
the old aboriginal chieftain, who, in describing himself, said he was ' like 
an aged hemlock, dead at the top, and whose branches alone were green' ! 
After more than one hundred years of most varied life, — of strife, of 
danger, of peace, — he at last slumbers in deep repose on the banks of his 
own beloved Allegheny. 

" Cornplanter was born at Conewongus, on the Genesee River, in 
1732, being a half-breed, the son of a white man named John O'Bail, a 
trader from the Mohawk Valley. In a letter written in later years to the 
governor of Pennsylvania he thus speaks of his early youth : ' When I 
was a child I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper, and the frogs ; 
and as I grew up I began to pay some attention and play with the Indian 
boys in the neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin being of a 
different color from theirs, and spoke about it. I inquired from my 
mother the cause, and she told me my father was a resident of Albany. 
I still ate my victuals out of a bark dish. I grew up to be a young man 
and married a wife, and I had no kettle or gun. I then knew where my 
father lived, and went to see him, and found he was a white man and 
spoke the English language. He gave me victuals while I was at his 
house, but when I started to return home he gave me no provisions to 
eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor gun.' 

" Little further is known of his early life beyond the fact that he was 

564 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

allied with the French in the engagement against General P]raddock in 
July, 1755. He was probably at that time at least twenty years old. 
During the Revolution he was a war chief of high rank, in the full vigor 
of manhood, active, sagacious, brave, and he most probably participated 
in the principal Indian engagements against the United States during the 
war. He is supposed to have been present at the cruelties of Wyoming 
and Cherry Valley, in which the Senecas took a prominent part. He 
was on the war-path with Brandt during General Sullivan's campaign in 
1779, and in the following year, under Brandt and Sir John Johnson, he 
led the Senecas in sweeping through the Schoharie and the Mohawk Val- 
leys. On this occasion he took his father a prisoner, but with such cau- 
tion as to avoid an immediate recognition. After marching the old man 
some ten or twelve miles, he stepped before him, faced about, and 
addressed him in the following terms : 

" ' My name is John O'Bail, commonly called Cornplanter. I am 
your son. You are my father. You are now my prisoner, and subject 
to the custom of Indian warfare ; but you shall not be harmed. You need 
not fear. I am a warrior. Many are the scalps which I have taken. 
Many prisoners have I tortured to death. I am your son. I was anxious 
to see you and greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin and took 
you by force ; but your life shall be spared. Indians love their friends 
and their kindred, and treat them with kindness. If you now chose to 
follow the fortunes of your yellow son and to live with our people, I will 
cherish your old age with plenty of venison, and you shall live easy. But 
if it is your choice to return to your fields and live with your white chil- 
dren, I will send a party of trusty young men to conduct you back in 
safety. I respect you, my father. You have been friendly to Indians, 
and they are your friends.' The elder O'Bail preferred his white children 
and green fields to his yellow offspring and the wild woods, and chose to 
return. 

"Cornplanter was the greatest warrior the Senecas, the untamable 
people of the hills, ever had, and it was his wish that when he died his 
grave would remain unmarked, but the Legislature of Pennsylvania 
willed otherwise, and erected a monument to him with this beautiful 

inscription : 

"' Cyantwahia, The Cornplanter, 

John O'Bail, All\s Cornplanter, 

DIED 

At Cornplanter Town, Feb. 18, A. D. 1S36, 

Aged about 100 years.' 

" Upon the west side is the following inscription : 

" ' Chief of the Seneca tribe, and a principal chief of the Six Nations from the 
period of the Revolutionary War to the time of his death. Distinguished for talent, 
courage, eloquence, sobriety, and love for tribe and race, to -whose welfare he devoted 
his time, his energy, and his means during a long and eventful life.' " 

565 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In the above I have copied largely from Rupp's history, and from the 
" History of Warren County, Pennsylvania." 

MOSES KNAPP. 

In the spring of 1797, Joseph Barnett, of Linesville, Dauphin County, 
Pennsylvania, Samuel Scott and Moses Knapp, of Lycoming County, 
Pennsylvania, left the mouth of Pine Creek, on the west branch of the 
Susquehanna, in Lycoming County, and wended their way over Meade's 
Trail to the confluence of Mill Creek with Sandy Lick, now Port Bar- 
nett, for the purpose of starting a settlement. Port Barnett was then in 
Pine Creek township, Lycoming County. Upon their arrival they com- 
menced the erection of a saw-mill. " Samuel Scott was a millwright by 
trade, and was assisted in his work by Moses Knapp, who was an adopted 
son, then about nineteen years of age. They first built a saw-mill on 
Mill Creek, about where the present mill of Mr. Humphrey now stands. 
This mill was the property of Mr. Scott. Young Knapp exhibited a good 
deal of mechanical ingenuity in this work, and the next year built a mill 
for himself on the North Fork, on a site about the head of Heidrick, 
Matson & Co.'s mill-pond. Leaving his mill in the fall to stand still 
during the winter, young Knapp went to Indiana to attend a term of 
school. While there he became acquainted with Miss Susan Matson, a 
daughter of Uriah Matson, of that place. The acquaintance thus made 
soon ripened into an engagement, and Moses Knapp and Susan Matson 
were united in matrimony, and thus in one short absence from the scene 
of his labors Moses had accomplished much, and when all this was ac- 
complished she returned with him to Port Barnett. He then built a 
camp or residence at his saw-mill on the North Fork, and there they 
commenced keeping house, a beginning which resulted in the production 
of a family of eleven children. Here, in 1801, was born Polly, and 
afterwards Isabel and Samuel. 

"He sold out his mill and 'betterments' at the head of Heidrick, 
Matson & Co.'s pond to Samuel and William Lucas, and then began 
house-keeping in a new place, at the mouth of the North Fork, now 
Brookville. After he had got his family in living shape here, he built an- 
other saw-mill on what was known as Knapp's Run. The name of this 
stream has since been changed to Five-Mile Run. This mill Knapp sold 
to Thomas Lucas, Es(i. He then built a log grist-mill on the North 
Fork, near his residence, only a few rods from the Red Bank Creek. 
This mill had one run of rock-stones. The water was gathered by a wing- 
dam of brush and stones, that extended nearly up to where the road now 
crosses below Heidrick, Matson lV- Co.'s dam, and was thus brought into 
a chute, that passed it under a large under-shot water-wheel. A ' face- 
gear' wheel upon the water-wheel shaft ' meshed' into a ' trundle-head' 
upon the ' spindle' which carried the revolving-stone, comprised the pro- 

566 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

pelling machinery. This mill was often taxed to its utmost capacity. 
People would come here to get their grain ground from distances of 
twenty and thirty miles, through the woods on horseback and on bare- 
foot carrying the grain on their backs. A big day's grind was from six 
to ten bushels of grain." 

While residing at this place, in what is now Brookville, John Knapp 
was born in 1807, and afterwards Amy, Joshua, Moses, Clarissa, and 
Joseph, the last in 181 8. 

During the time of Knapp's residence at the head of what is now 
Heidrick, Matson & Co.'s pond, and many years thereafter, " the cheap- 
est and most expeditious method of obtaining such supplies as could not 
be produced on the ground was to go to Pittsburg for them. Rafts of 
sawed lumber were run to Pittsburg in the spring of the year. A canoe 
was taken along, and when the raft was sold most of the avails would be 
invested in whiskey, pork, sugar, dry goods, etc. These goods were then 
loaded into the canoe, and the same men that brought the raft through 
to market would "pole" or "push" the loaded canoe up the river and 
up the creek to Port Barnett. This was a " voyage" that all men of full 
strength were very desirous of making, and was the subject of conversa- 
tion for the remaining part of the year. 

These canoes were hewed out of a large pine-tree, large enough to re- 
ceive a barrel of flour crosswise. A home-made rope of flax was attached 
to the front end of the canoe to be used in pulling the canoe up and over 
ripples. The men with these canoes had to camp in the woods wherever 
night overtook them, and their greatest terror and fear was rattlesnakes, 
for the creek bottoms were alive with them. 

The pioneer keel-boat built on these western waters was at Pittsburg 
in 181 1, — viz., the " New Orleans." The first river steamboat was built 
in 1817. 

In 1821, Moses Knapp "articled" with the Holland Land Company 
for a quantity of land in what is now Clover township. The land was 
taken from warrants numbered 30S2 and 3200, which included the land 
upon which Dowlingville is situated, and also that upon which the Baxter 
property and mills now are. 

After building a cabin and moving his family into it, he commenced 
the building of a dam pretty much on the site of the present dam, and a 
saw-mill on the site of the present mill. He took a partner in the busi- 
ness and vigorously prosecuted the work. In cutting timber for the mill 
he in some way got his foot crushed so badly that it became necessary to 
have the leg amputated above the knee. The mill was completed, and 
the business of manufacturing lumber, etc., was carried on for a few 
years by Knapp tS: Ball. 

He had two children born here, — Isaac M. and Eliza. He was 
elected constable while here in 182 1, the year he was hurt. 

567 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Moses Knapp was the pioneer pilot on Red Bank Creek. The pioneer 
board-raft contained about eight thousand feet of boards. Pilots received 
but two dollars per trip and found ; common hands but one dollar per 
trip and found. The pioneer pilots steered the rafts then with the front 
oar. The pioneer oars and stems were then hewn out of a single dry 
pine-tree. Elijah M. Graham was the first to saw oar-blades separate 
from the stem. 

SAW-MILLS. 

The earliest form of a saw-mill was a "saw-pit." In it lumber was 
sawed in this way : by two men at the saw, one man standing above the 




A pioneer saw-mill erected on Rattlesnake Creek, in Snyder township, in 1841, 
by James Pendleton. 

pit, the other man in the pit, the two men sawing the log on trestles 
above. Saws are prehistoric. The ancients used "bronzed saws." 
Saw-mills were first run by "individual power," and water-power was 
first used in Germany about 1322. The primitive water saw-mill con- 
sisted of a wooden pitman attached to the shaft of the wheel. The log to 
be sawed was placed on rollers, sustained by a framework over the wheel, 
and was fed forward on the rollers by means of levers worked by hand. 
The pioneer saw-mill erected in the United States was near or on the di- 
viding line of Maine and New Hampshire, in 1634. 

The early ui)and-down saw-mills were built of frame timbers mor- 

568 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tised and tenoned and pinned together with oak pins. In size these 
mills were from twenty to thirty feet wide and from fifty to sixty feet in 
length, and were roofed with clapboards, slabs, or boards. The run- 
ning-gear was an undershot flutter-wheel, a gig-wheel to run the log-car- 
riage back, and a bull-wheel with a rope or chain attached to haul the ' 
logs into the mill on and over the slide. The capacity of such a mill 
was about four thousand feet of boards in twenty-four hours. The total 
cost of one of these up-and-down saw-mills when completed was about 
three hundred dollars, one hundred dollars for iron used and two hun- 
dred dollars for the work and material. Luther Geer, an old pioneer, 
built about twenty-eight of such mills. Moses Knapp died near Dow- 
lingville, in 1853, and is buried in the graveyard of the Jefferson United 
Presbyterian Church. Mr. Knapp was a Seceder in belief, and was a 
leading member of that church, — to wit, the Jefferson. 

JOHN JONES. 

"The subject of this sketch was born in Northumberland County, 
Pennsylvania, the loth of February, 1781, and in the year 1797 he 
came to what is now Port Barnett, about one and a half miles east of 
Brookville, Jefferson County, as an apprentice to the millwright trade 
with his uncle, Samuel Scott. After the erection of this mill (being as- 
sisted by the Indians) he engaged in the lumber business with his uncle, 
and became quite a woodsman, killing as many as one hundred deer in 
a season. The Indians being quite numerous at that time in the forest, 
he even camped and hunted in partnership with them. He was often 
heard to remark that he could beat them killing deer, but they could 
beat him on the bear. In the year 181 1 he settled on his farm, east of 
Strattonville. He erected a cabin and commenced clearing, and in a 
short time he was drafted into the military service. After clearing off a 
portion of ground and sowing his wheat and fencing the same, he was, 
with several of his neighbors, ready for the call, and on the 25th of Sep- 
tember they started for Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and they remained there 
for a short time and elected their officers. A man by the name of Wallace 
was elected captain, and Robert Orr, major. They then marched through 
the State of Ohio to the Maumee River, and there they built Fort Meigs; 
remained there until spring, then returned to their home. 

"Jones then commenced opening up more land, but still lumbering 
occasionally on Red Bank, and canoeing provisions and groceries from 
Pittsburg, there being no store of any account nearer. After they got to 
raising some grain, it had to be taken to Samuel Scott's at Port Barnett, 
fifteen miles distant. When the mill failed, some of the neighbors had 
to go to Mudlic, Indiana County. Some went to a horse mill on Bear 
Creek, below Parker City. There were also quite a number of hand 
mills in use in the country for grinding corn. The first store in what is 

37 569 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

now Clarion County was located where Reimersburg now stands, in 1812, 
and owned by James Pinks, and if you happened to run out of salt for 
your venison, you could get a bushel from him for five dollars, and all 
other things in proportion. 

" In the year 1S18 the mildew struck the wheat and it was totally de- 
stroyed, and starvation stared them in the face ; but he knew where to go. 
So off he starts to the pine-woods, selects a place for himself and brothers, 
and at it they went, and gathered and split, and burned each of them a 
kiln of tar ; and when they got the tar barrelled, they then had to haul 
it four miles to the Clarion River, made a canoe and run the tar to Pitts- 
burg, and traded it for the necessaries of life. He also piloted the viewers 
and surveyors of the Brookville and Meadville turnpike, or, more prop- 
erly, the Bellefonte and Erie turnpike, and many other roads, he being 
considered the best posted in regard to location." 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

JOSEPH BARNETT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE PATRIARCH OF JEFFER- 
SON COUNTY. 

Joseph Barnett, the patriarch of Jefferson County, was the son 
of John and Sarah Barnett, and was born in Dauphin County, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1754. His father was born in Ireland, and located in 
Pennsylvania in the early part of the eighteenth century, and was a 
farmer up to the time of his death in 1757. His mother died a few 
years later, and Joseph was "brought up" by his relatives. He was 
raised on a farm, and was thus peacefully employed when the Revolu- 
tion commenced. As a son of a patriotic sire he could not resist taking 
part in the struggle, and so joined the army and served for some years. 
The exact duration of his service cannot now be ascertained, but this 
we learn : "he was a brave and efficient soldier, and never faltered 
in the path of duty." He also served in the State militia in the cam- 
paign against the Wyoming boys. After the war he settled in North- 
umberland County, where he owned a large tract of land, but was dis- 
possessed of it by some informalities of the title. Here he was married 
to Elizabeth Scott, sister of Samuel Scott and daughter of John Scott, 
July 3, 1794. 

I find Joseph Barnett assessed in Pine Creek township, Northumber- 
land County, April 28, 1786. 1 find him in 1788 assessed in the same 
township and county with a saw-mill and as a single freeman. This was 
his saw-mill at the mouth of Pine Creek, and the mill on which he lost 

570 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

his eye. The property is now in Clinton County. After losing his mill 
and land Barnett returned in the nineties to Dauphin County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and engaged in contracting for and building bridges. In 1799 I 
find him again assessed in Pine Creek township, then Lycoming County, 
Pennsylvania, with two hundred and twenty-five acres of land. This 
was his Port Barnett property, where he migrated to with his family in 
1800, and here he engaged in the erection of mills and in the lumbering 
business that eventually made Port Barnett, then in Lycoming County, 
the centre of business for a large extent of territory. In a short time a 
tub grist-mill was added to his saw-mill, and, with his "Port Barnett 
flint-stone binns," he made an eatable, if not a very desirable, quality 
of flour. The Indians (Cornplanters and Senecas) then in the country 
were good customers of our subject, and what few whites there were for 
thirty or forty miles around would make his cabin a stopping-place for 
several days at a time. His log cabin became a tavern, the only one 
in a seventy-five miles' journey, and was frequented by all the early 
settlers. 

" His Indian guests did not eat in the house, but would in winter make 
a pot of mush over his fire and set it out in the snow to cool ; then one 
fellow would take a dipper and eat his fill of the pudding, sometimes with 
milk, butter, or molasses ; then another would take it and go through the 
same process until all were satisfied. The dogs would then help them- 
selves from the same pot, and when they put their heads in the pot in 
the Indian's way he would give them a slap over the head with the 
dipper." 

He kept a store, rafted lumber on Sandy Lick and Red Bank, and at 
the same time attended to his saw- and grist-mills. I find him assessed 
in Pine Creek township in 1800 as a farmer. 

"The Senecas of Cornplanter's tribe were friendly and peaceable 
neighbors, and often extended their excursions into these waters, where 
they encamped, two or three in a squad, and hunted deers and bears, 
taking the hams and skins in the spring to Pittsburg. Their rafts were 
constructed of dry poles, upon which they piled up their meat and skins 
in the form of a haystack, took them to Pittsburg, and exchanged them 
for trinkets, blankets, calicoes, weapons, etc. They were friendly, 
sociable, and rather fond of making money. During the war of 181 2 
the settlers were apprehensive that an unfortunate turn of the war upon 
the lakes might bring an irruption of the savages upon the frontier 
through the Seneca nation. 

" Old Captain Hunt, a Muncy Indian, had his camp for some years 
on Red Bank, near where is now the southwestern corner of Brookville. 
He got his living by hunting, and enjoyed the results in drinking whiskey, 
of which he was inordinately fond. One year he killed seventy-eight 
bears, — they were plenty then ; the skins might be worth about three 

571 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

dollars each, — nearly all of which he expended for his favorite bev- 
erage. 

"Samuel Scott resided here until 1810, when, having scraped to- 
gether, by hunting and lumbering, about two thousand dollars, he went 
down to the Miami River and bought a section of fine land, which made 
him rich. 

"It is related that Joseph Barnett at one time carried sixty pounds of 
flour on his back from Pittsburg. Their supplies of flour, salt, and other 
necessaries were frequently brought in canoes from that place. These 
were purchased with lumber, which he sawed and rafted to that city, and 
which in those days was sold for twenty-five dollars per thousand. The 
nearest settlement on Meade's trail eastward of Port Barnett was Paul 
Clover's, thirty-three miles distant, on the west branch of the Susque- 
hanna, where Curwensville now stands ; and westward Fort Venango was 
forty-five miles distant, which points were the only resting-places for the 
travellers who ventured through this unbroken wilderness. The Seneca 
Indians, of Cornplanter's tribe, heretofore mentioned, often extended 
their hunting excursions to these waters, and encamped to hunt deer and 
bears and make sugar. They are said to have made sugar by catching 
the sap in small troughs, and, after collecting in a large trough, hot 
stones were dipped into it to boil it down." — Daf s Collections. 

About the year 1802, Joseph Barnett consented to act as banker for 
the Indians around Port Barnett. The Indians were all " bimetallists," 
and had the " silver craze," for their money was all silver ; and bringing 
their monometallism to Mr. Barnett, he received it from them and de- 
posited it in their presence in his private vault, — viz., a small board 
trunk covered with hog-skin, tanned with the bristles on. On the lid 
were the letters "J. B.," made with brass tacks. The trunk was now 
full ; the bank was a solid financial institution. In a short time, how- 
ever, the red men concluded to withdraw their deposits, and they made 
a "run" in a body on the bank. Barnett handed over the trunk, and 
each Indian counted out his own pieces, and according to their combined 
count the bank was insolvent ; there was a shortage, a deficiency of one 
fifty-cent piece. Mr. Barnett induced the Indians to recount their silver, 
but the fifty-cent piece was still missing. The Indians then declared 
Mr. Barnett must die ; they surrounded the house and ordered him on 
the porch to be shot. He obeyed orders, but pleaded with them to 
count their pieces the third time, and if the fifty-cent piece was still 
missing, then they could shoot him. This the Indians considered fair, 
and they counted the silver pieces the third time, and one Indian found 
he had one more piece than his own ; he had the missing fifty-cent 
piece. Then there was joy and rejoicing among the Indians. Banker 
Barnett was no longer a criminal ; he was the hero and friend of the 
Indians. 

572 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The following sketch of the first white settlement within the county 
was principally derived from Andrew Barnett, Jr., Esq., in 1840 : 

" Old Mr. Joseph Barnett was the patriarch of Jefferson County. He 
had done service on the West Branch under General Potter during the 
Revolution, and also under the State against the Wyoming boys. After 
the war he settled in Northumberland County, at the mouth of Pine 
Creek, and very probably might have been one of the Fairplay boys ; at 
any rate, he lost his property by the operation of the common law, which 
superseded the jurisdiction of fair play. Again, in 1797, he penetrated 
the wilderness of the Upper Susquehanna by the Chinklacamoose path, 
and, passing the headlands between the Susquehanna and the Allegheny, 
arrived on the waters of Red Bank, then called Sandy Lick Creek. He 
had purchased lands here of Timothy Pickering (.\: Co. He first erected 
a saw- mill at Port Barnett, where Andrew Barnett, Jr., now resides, at 
the mouth of INIill Creek, about two miles east of Brookville. His com- 
panions on this expedition were his brother, Andrew Barnett, and his 
brother-in-law, Samuel Scott. Nine Seneca Indians, of Cornplanter's 
tribe, assisted him to raise his mill. Leaving his brothers to look after 
the new structure, he returned to his family in Dauphin County, intend- 
ing to bring them out. But Scott soon followed him with the melan- 
choly news of the death of his brother Andrew, who was buried by the 
friendly Indians and Scott in the flat opposite the present tavern. This 
news discouraged him for a while ; but in 1800 he removed his family 
out, accompanied again by Mr. Scott. They sawed lumber and rafted it 
down to Pittsburg, where it brought in those days twenty-five dollars per 
thousand. The usual adventures and privations of frontier life attended 
their residence. The nearest mill was on Black Lick Creek, in Indiana 
County. Mr. Barnett knew nothing of the wilderness south of him, and 
was obliged to give an Indian four dollars to pilot him to Westmoreland. 
The nearest house on the eastward was Paul Clover's (grandfather of 
General Clover), thirty-three miles distant on the Susquehanna, where 
Curwensville now stands ; westward Fort Venango was distant forty-five 
miles. These points were the only resting-places for the travellers through 
that unbroken wilderness." 

Their children were as follows : Sarah and Thomas, twins, born in 
Pine Creek township, Northumberland County, in 1790, now Clinton 
County. John was born in Linesville, Dauphin County, June 16, 1795. 
Andrew, born in Dauphin County, November 22, 1797, where Joseph 
Barnett was engaged in contracting for and building bridges in the nine- 
ties. He emigrated with his family from Dauphin County to Mill Creek, 
Port Barnett, Lycoming County, in iSoo, now Jefferson County; and 
Rebecca was born at Port Barnett, Lycoming County, August 6, 1802. 
She was the first white female child born within the present limits of Jef- 
ferson County. J. Potter was born at Port Barnett, Lycoming County, 

573 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

May 23, 1800. Margaret Annie was born October 22, 1805, ^^ Port 
Barnett, Pine Creek township, Jefferson County. Joseph Scott, the 
youngest child and the first white male child born in the county, was 
born April 12, 1812, at Port Barnett, Pine Creek township, Jefferson 
County; and Juliet was born April 12, 1808, at Port Barnett, Pine 
Creek township, Jefferson County. 

The original Pine Creek township was erected in Northumberland 
County at the August term of court in 1785. In 1795, when Lycoming 
was organized, Pine Creek township became a part of that county. In 
1804, when Jefferson County was organized and taken from Lycoming, 
Pine Creek township was divided, and that part taken from Lycoming 
was thrown into Jefferson and made into Pine Creek township, and was 
the whole of Jefferson County until the year 181 8. 

The census of 1800 shows that Lycoming had a population of 5414. 
The population of Pine Creek township, Lycoming County, in 1800, 
when Joseph Barnett migrated and located at Mill Creek, now Jefferson 
County, was: whites, 682; colored, 24; slaves, 5; total, 711. 

The following advertisement is a relic of the institution of slavery in 
Pennsylvania at the time Joseph Barnett migrated to what is now Jefferson 
County : 

"2 s. (shillings) reward. 

"Ran away on the 2d inst. negro man John, about 22 ; also negro 
girl named Flora, about 18, slender made, speaks bad English and a 
little French. Has a scar on her upper lip and letters branded on her 
breast. Whoever secures the runaways in any place where their master 
can get them shall have the above reward and reasonable charges paid 
by 

"John Patton. 

"Centre Furnace, Mifflin County, July 26, 1799." 

— History of Centre County. 

When Joseph Barnett settled on Mill Creek, Pine Creek township, 
Lycoming County was divided into two election districts, — the third and 
fourth, — viz. : " 3. That part of Lycoming township west of Pine Run, 
and that part of Pine Creek east of Chatham's Run, and the township of 
Nippenose, to form the third district. Elections to be held at the house 
of Thomas Ramey, Pine Creek. 

" 4. All that part of Pine Creek township west of Chatham's Run to 
constitute the fourth district, and elections to be held at the house of 
Hugh Andrew, Dunnsburgh." Dunnsburgh, or Dunnstown, as it is now 
called, is in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1768 by 
William Dunn, and is about one-half mile down the river from Lock 

574 



PIONEER HIST(3RV OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Haven, and on the opposite or east side of the river. This fourtli district 
was the polhng- or voting-place for the Port Barnett settlement. 

Hon. Jacob Rush was then president judge. He was the president 
judge of the third judicial district, formed, in part, of Northumberland 
County, from which Lycoming County was taken, the act of April 13, 
1795, providing that it shall be within his jurisdiction. He was born in 
Philadelphia in 1746, was a brother of the famous Benjamin Rush, of that 
city, and a graduate of Princeton College. 

The first road we have any account of in Lycoming County was 
the "pack-horse" road into the valley of Loyalsock ; it was cut across 
the mountain from Muncy to Hillsgrove, for the use of explorers and sur- 
veyors, and was called the " Wallis road," because it was made by Samuel 
Wallis. In 1793 another " pack-horse" road was cut. It left the Wallis 
road at the foot of the Alleghenies, then ran northward to the left of 
Hunter's Lake and on the forks of the Loyalsock, where Forksville is now 
situated. It was called the " Courson road." In 1792, Williamson cut 
his famous road through from Trout Run to the Block House and be- 
yond to enable him to conduct a company of colonists to the Genesee 
country. 

In stature, Mr. Barnett was five feet eight inches, and would weigh 
about one hundred and eight pounds. His presence was prepossessing, 
and with his smooth-shaved face, and a countenance open and frank, his 
appearance was such as to attract the attention of all. 

In 1800 the only road was Meade's trail. Before the axe of the lum- 
berman had visited these forests, the trees stood tall, lordly, and free 
from undergrowth, the great trunks standing straight in the air, with the 
ground cool and damp in the shade. You could ride a horse almost any- 
where through the woods. In 1801, Barnett got out of salt. The nearest 
place to obtain it was in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Barnett 
could not make the trip through the woods himself, and he bargained for 
three days with an Indian to guide him. The Indian wanted just as 
much more as Barnett felt able to give. At the end of three days the 
bargain was closed for what the Indian believed to be half-price, — viz., 
two dollars. The trip to Westmoreland was then made, and after Barnett 
secured his salt, the Indian coolly remarked, "Me no go back; me no 
go back." All then that was left for Barnett to do was to give him his 
original price of four dollars. Joseph Barnett was rather a homely man 
in face and features. He was Scotch-Irish. He was a practical business 
man, a strict Presbyterian, a true Christian of that time. He had his 
left eye gouged out in a rough and-tumble fight on his saw-mill. He 
died as he had lived, a true-hearted man, on the 15th of April, 1838, 
and was buried in our old graveyard above Church Street. His wife 
passed away four months later, in her sixty-fifth year, and was buried 
there also. 

575 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

BIOGRAPHY OF BILL LONG. 

THE "KING HUN'IER" THE HUNTER OF HUNTERS IN THIS WILDERNESS 

SOME OF THE ADVENTURES AND LIFE OF "BILL LONo" FROM HIS 
CHILDHOOD UNTIL HE WAS SEVENTY YEARS OLD. 

William Long, a son of Louis (Ludwig) Long, was born near Read- 
ing, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1794. His father and mother were 
Germans. In the summer of 1803, Louis Long, with his family, moved 




Bill Lon- 



into this wilderness and settled near Port liarnett (now the McConnell 
farm). Ludwig Long's family consisted of himself, wife, and eleven 
children, — nine sons and two daughters, — William, the subject of this 
sketch, being the second child. The IJarnetts were the only neighbors 

576 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of the Longs. Louis Long brought with him a small " still" and six flint- 
lock guns, the only kind in use at that time. It was not until about the 
year 1S30 that the percussion-cap rifles were first used, but they were not 
in general use here for some years after that. As soon as Mr. Long 
raised some grain he commenced to operate his "still" and manufacture 
whiskey, this being the first manufactured west of the mountains and 
east of the Allegheny River. 

This part of Pennsylvania was then the hunting-grounds of the Seneca 
Indians, — Cornplanter tribe. The still house of Long soon became the 
resort for these Indians. Pittsburg was the nearest market for pelts, furs, 
etc., and the only place to secuj-e flour and other necessaries, etc. From 
the mouth of Red Bank Creek these goods had to be poled up to Bar- 
nett's in canoes. By scooping the channel, wading, and polling, a 
round trip to the mouth could be made in from one to two weeks. Al- 
though the woods swarmed with Seneca Indians, as a rule, they never 
committed any depredations. 

In the summer of 1804, when A\'illiam was ten years old, he killed his 
first deer. One morning his father sent him into the woods for the cows. 
Nature was resplendent wath verdure. William carried with him a flint- 
lock gun, and when a short distance from the house he found the cows 
and a deer feeding with them. This was William's opportunity. He 
shot and killed this deer, and, as a reward for merit, his father gave him 
a flint-lock gun as a present. This circumstance determined his course 
in life, for from that day until his death it was his delight to roam in the 
forest and pursue wild animals, and hunting was his only business. He 
was a "professional hunter," a "still hunter," or a man who hunted 
alone. 

In this summer of 1804, William went with his mother to Ligonier, in 
Westmoreland County, to get some provisions. The only road was an 
Indian path, the distance sixty miles. They rode through the brush on 
a horse, and made this trip in about five days. 

The Indians soon became civilized, as far as drinking whiskey and 
getting drunk was an evidence. They visited this still-house for de- 
bauchery and drunken carnivals. As a safeguard to himself and family, 
Louis Long had a strong box made to keep the guns and knives of these 
Indians in while these drunks Avere occurring. The Indians desired him 
to do this. Mr. I>ong never charged the Indians for this whiskey, al- 
though they always offered pelts and furs when they sobered up. In 
consideration of this generosity, the Indians, in broken English, always 
called Louis Long, "Good man; give Indian whiskey. Indian fight 
pale-face ; Indians come one hundred miles to give ' good man' warning." 

Ludwig Long kept his boys busy in the summer months clearing 
land, farming, etc. The boys had their own time in winter. Then 
William, with his gun and traps, traversed the forest, away from the 

577 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ocean's tide, with no inlet or outlet but winding paths used by the deer 
when he wished to slake his thirst in the clear, sparkling water of the 
North Fork. 

The boy hunter, to keep from being lost while on the trail, followed 
up one side of this creek and always came down on the opposite. When 
he grew older he ventured farther and farther into the wilderness, but 
always keeping the waters of the North Fork, Mill Creek, and Sandy 
Lick within range until he became thoroughly educated with the country 
and woods. 

In his boyhood he frequently met and hunted in company with In- 
dians. The Indians were friendly to him on account of his father's rela- 
tions to them, and it was these Indians that gave young William his first 
lesson in the art of hunting. Young William learned the trick of calling 
wolves in this way. One day his father and he went out for a deer. 
William soon shot a large one, and while skinning this deer they heard 
a pack of wolves howl. William told his father to lie down and be 
ready to shoot, and he would try the Indian method of "howling" or 
calling wolves up to you. His father consented, and William howled 
and the wolves answered. William kept up the howls and the wolves 
answered, coming closer and closer, until his father became scared : but 
William wouldn't stop until the wolves got so close that he and his father 
had to fire on the pack, killing two, when the others took fright and 
ran away. The bounty for killing wolves then was eight dollars a piece. 
A short time after this William and his father went up Sandy to watch 
an elk lick, and at this point they killed an elk and started for home. 
On the way home they found where a pack of about twenty wolves had 
crossed their path, near where the town of Reynoldsville now is. Look- 
ing up the hill on the right side of Sandy they espied the whole pack, 
and, both father and son firing into the pack, they killed two of them. 
William then commenced to "howl," and one old wolf through curiosity 
came to the top of the hill, looking down at the hunters. For this 
bravery William shot him through the head. On their return home that 
day Joseph Barnett treated them both to whiskey and "tansy," for, 
said he, " the wolves this day have killed one of my cows." When Long 
was still a young man, one day he went up the North Fork to hunt. 
About sundown he shot a deer, and when he had it dressed there came 
up a heavy rain. Being forced to stay all night, he took the pelt and 
covered himself with it, and lay down under the bank to sleep. After 
midnight he awoke, and found himself covered with sticks and leaves. 
In a minute he knew this was the work of a panther hunting food for her 
cubs, and that she would soon return. He therefore prepared a pitch- 
pine fagot, lit it, and hid the burning fagot under the bank and awaited 
the coming of the panther. In a short time after this preparation was 
completed the animal returned with her cubs, and when she was within 

578 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

about thirty feet of him, Long thrust his torch up and out, and when it 
blazed up bright the panther gave out a yell and ran away. 

John Long and William started out one morning on Sandy Lick to have 
a bear-hunt, taking with them nine dogs. William had been sent out the 
day before with two dogs, and had a skirmish with one on Sandy Lick, 
near where Fuller's Station now stands. The two brothers went to this 
point and found the track, and chased the bear across the creek at Rocky 
Bend, the bear making for a windfall ; but the dogs stopped him before 
he reached the windfall and commenced the fight. They soon heard 
some of the dogs giving death-yells. They both hurried to the scene of 
conflict, and the first sight they beheld was three favorite dogs stretched 
out dead and the balance fighting. William ran in and placed the muzzle 
of his gun against bruin's breast and fired. The bear then backed up to 
the root of a large hemlock, sitting upright and grabbing for dogs. John 
and William then fired, and both balls entered bruin's head, not more 
than an inch apart. In this melee three dogs were killed and the other 
six badly wounded. When William was still a boy he went up the North 
Fork and killed five deer in one day. On his way home about dark he 
noticed a pole sticking in the hollow of a tree, and carelessly gave this 
pole a jerk, when he heard a noise in the hole. The moon being up, he 
saw a bear emerge from this tree some distance up. Young Long shot 
and killed it before it reached the earth. In that same fall. Bill Long 
killed in one day, on Mill Creek, nine deer, the largest number he ever 
killed in that space of time. At that time he kept nothing but the 
pelts, and carried them home on his back. Panthers often came around 
Louis Long's home at night, screaming and yelling. So one morning, 
after three had been prowling around the house all night, William 
induced his brother John to join him in a hunt for them. There was 
snow on the ground, and they took three dogs with them. The dogs 
soon found the "tracks." Keeping the dogs back, they soon found 
three deer killed by the brutes, and then they let the dogs go. The dogs 
soon caught these three panthers feasting on the fourth deer. The dogs 
treed two of the panthers. John shot one and Billy the other, the third 
escaped. The hunters then camped for the night, dining on deer- and 
panther-meat roasted, and each concluded the panther-meat was the 
sweetest and the best. 

In the morning they pursued the third panther, treed it, and killed 
it. These were the first panthers the Long boys ever killed. This stim- 
ulated young William, so he took one of the Vastbinder boys and started 
out again, taking along two dogs. They soon found one, the dogs at- 
tacking it. Young Vastbinder fired, but missed. The panther sprang 
for Long, but the dogs caught him by the hams and that saved young 
Long. The panther broke loose from the dogs and ran up on a high 
root. Long then fired and broke the brute's back. The dogs then 

579 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

rushed in, but the panther whipped them off. Then Long, to save the 
dogs, ran in and tomahawked the creature. Long was about eighteen 
years of age now. At another time a panther sprang from a high tree for 
Long. Long fired and killed the panther before it reached him, but the 







Shooting a panther. 



weight of the animal striking Long on the shoulder, felled hitii to the 
earth. 

In 1 8 15 six brothers of Cornplanter's tribe of Indians erected wig- 
wams in the Beaver Meadows, where Du Bois now stands. These 
brothers called themselves respectively "Big" John, "Little" John, 
"Black" John, "Saucy" John, "John" John, and "John" Sites. In 
1823, Long coaxed these Indians to go with him to Luther's tavern to 
shoot at mark with Lebbeus Luther. Luther made on purpose several 
careless shots, when the Indians were greatly elated at their victory ; but 
then, to their amazement and fear, all at once he pierced the centre every 
time. The Indians were then afraid, and casting superstitious glances at 
Luther, said, "We are not safe. Luver is a bad medicineman. Let us 
go." This was great fun for Long. Long told me this story in 1862 in 
Hickory Kingdom. 

In 1826, Ludwig Long moved to Ohio, and young liill went with the 
family. He remained there about twenty months ; but finding little 

580 



PIO.NEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

game, concluded to return to the mountain-hills of Jefferson County, 
then the paradise of hunters. In 1828, William Long married Mrs. 
Nancy Bartlett, formerly Miss Nancy Mason, and commenced married 
life in a log cabin on the North Fork, three miles from where Brookville 
now is, and on what is now the Albert Horn farm, formerly the Gaup 
place. About this time, game being plenty, and the scalps, skins, and 
saddles being hard to carry in. Bill Long induced a colored man named 
Charles Sutherland to build a cabin near him on what is now known as 
the Jacob Hoffman farm. Long was to provide for Charlie's family. 




The cabin was built, and Sutherland served Long for about five years. 
Charles never carried a gun. I remember both these characters well in 
my childhood, and doctored Long and his wife in my early practice and 
as late as 1862. In 1830, taking Charlie, Long started up the North 
Fork for bear ; it was on Sunday. After Long killed the first bear, he 
called Charlie to come and bring the dogs. When Charlie reached him 
he yelled out, "Good (rod, massa, hab you seed one?" They con- 
tinued the hunt that day, and before dark had killed seven bears. 
Charlie had never seen any bears killed before, but after this day was 
crazy to be on a hunt, for, he said, if " dem little niggers of mine hab 
plenty of bear-grease and venison, they will fatten well enough." This 

5S1 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

fall Long killed sixty deer and twenty-five bears, all on the North Fork, 
and the bears were all killed near and around where Richardsville now is. 
This locality was a natural home for wild animals, — 

" With its woodland dale and dell, 
Rippling brooks and hill-side springs." 

" A life in the forest deep, 
Where the winds their revels keep ; 
Like an eagle in groves of pine, 
Long hunted with his mate." 

In 1832, the day after Long killed the seven bears, he took Charlie 
Sutherland, and travelled over the same ground that he had been over 
the day before. He heard nothing, however, during the day but the 
sigh of the breeze or the speech of the brook until near evening, when, 
within about a mile of home, he saw a large buck coming down the hill. 
He fired and wounded the buck, and then motioned Charlie to come up 
to him while he was loading. Charlie came with a large pine-log on his 
back. Long asked him what he was doing with that log. Sutherland 
replied, he wanted it for dry wood. Long told him to throw the wood 
away, and made him carry the buck home for food. Long then yoked 
his two dogs up and told Charlie to lead them, but soon discovering 
bear signs, told Charlie to let the dogs go. The dogs took the trail, and 
found two bears heading for the laurel on the head of the North Fork. 
Long knew the route they would take, and beat them to the laurel path. 
Soon Long heard them coming, the dogs fighting the bears every time 
the bears would cross a log, catching them from behind. The bears 
would then turn around and fight the dogs until they could get over the 
log. When the bears came within about thirty yards of Long, he shot 
one through the head and killed him. At this time Long only took the 
pelts, which he always carried home, the meat being of no account. 
This same year Long took Charlie with him to get some venison by 
watching a lick, and he took Charlie up a tree with him. In a short 
time a very large bear came into the lick. Long shot it while he and 
Charlie were up the tree. Much to Long's amusement, Charlie was so 
scared that he fell from the tree to the ground, landing on his back with 
his face up. He was, however, unhurt, and able to carry home to his 
cabin the pelt and bear oil. The next morning they saw a bear, and 
Long fired, hitting him in the lungs-. This same fall, on the head of 
the North Fork, Long saw something black in the brush, which, on 
closer inspection, proved to be a large she bear. On looking up, he 
saw three good-sized cubs. Long climbed up, and brought the whole 
three of them down, one at a time. He then handed them to Charlie, 
who tied their legs. Long put them in his knapsack and carried them 

5«2 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEP'FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

home. Bears have from one to four cubs annually, about the ist of 
February. 

Knapsacks were made out of bed-ticking or canvas, with shoulder- 
straps. One of these young bears Long sold to Adam George, a butcher 
in Brookvilie. Even at this late day Long only took the skins and what 
meat he wanted for his own use. This fall Long was not feeling well, 
and had to keep out of the wet. He therefore made Charlie carry him 
across the streams. He also made Charlie carry a wolf-skin for him to 
sit on at night, when he was watching a lick. At another time Charlie 
and Long went out on a hunt near the head of the North Fork. In lonely 
solitude the dog started a bear, and Long could not shoot it for fear of 
hitting the dog, so he ran up and made a stroke at the bear's head with 
a tomahawk, wounding it but slightly. The bear jumped for Long, and 
the dogs came to the rescue of their master by catching " the tip of the 
bear's tail end," and, with the valor and fidelity of a true knight, held 




A common bear-pen. 



it firmly, until Long, who had left his gun a short distance, ran for 
it. Charlie thought Long was running from the bear, and took to his 
heels as if the "Old Harry" was after him. Long tried to stop him, 
but Charlie only looked back, and at this moment his foot caught under 
a root, throwing him about thirty feet down a hill. Charlie landed on 

583 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

a rock hard enough to have burst a shingle-bolt. Long, seeing this^ 
ran to the bear with his gun and shot him. He then hurried down the 
hill to see what had become of Charlie, calling to him. Charlie came 
out from under a bunch of laurel, saying, " God Almighty, Massa Long, 
I am failed from heben to hell ! Are you still living ? I tot that ar bar 
had done gon for you when I seed him come for you with his mouth 
open. Bless de good Lord you still live, or this nigger would never git 
out of dese woods !" That night Charlie and Long laid out in the woods. 
The wolves came up quite close and commenced to howl. Long saw 
there was a chance for a little fun, so he commenced to howl like a 
wolf. Charlie became nervous. " When lo ! he hears on all sides, from 
innumerable tongues, a universal howl, and in his fright" said there 
must be five thousand wolves. Long said he thought there was, and 
told Charlie that, if the wolves came after them, he must climb a tree. 
In a few minutes Long made a jump into the woods, yelling " The wolves 
are coming," and Charlie bounded like a deer into the woods, too. The 
night was dark and dreary ; but deep in the forest Charlie made out to 
find and climb a majestic oak. Long, therefore, had to look Charlie 
up, and when he got near to our colored brother, he heard him solilo- 
quizing thus : " Charles, you have to stick tight, for if this holt breaks you 
are a gone nigger." Long then stepped up to the tree and told Charlie 
the danger was over ; but coming down the tree was harder than going 
up, for Charlie fell to the earth like a thunder-bolt and doubled up like a 
jack-knife. 

Charlie's domestic life was not all peace, as the following newspaper 
advertisement will explain : 

" CAUTION. 

" Whereas my wife Susey did on the 26th day of March last leave my 
bed and board, and took with her two of my sons and some property, 
having no other provocation than ' that I would not consent to my son 
marrying a white girl, and bring her home to live with us.' Therefore I 
hereby caution all persons against harboring or trusting her on my 
account, as I will pay no debts of her contracting. 

" If she will come home I promise to do all in my power to make her 
comfortable, and give an equal share of all my property. 

" Charles Southerland. 

" April 7, 1S47." 

When this wilderness commenced to settle up. Long visited Broken 
Straw Creek, in Warren County, on the head of the Allegheny River, to 
see a noted hunter by the name of Cotton, and to learn from him his 
method of hunting young wolves. He learned much from this man 
Cotton, and afterwards secured many young wolves by the instruction 
given him by Cotton. In the winter of 1835, Mike and Bill Long went to 

5«4 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. PENNA. 

Boone's Mountain to hunt. This mountain was a barren region in those 
days, that always looked in winter-time like 

" Rivers of ice and a sea of snow, 
A wilderness frigid and white." 

' During the season Bill killed one hundred and five deer and Mike 
one hundred and four, and together they killed four bears. At this time 
there was some local demand in Brookville and other towns for venison, 
and in this year the Long's sent loads of venison to Harrisburg, making 
a trip to the capital in seven or eight days. In 1839, Long moved into 
Clearfield County, and his history in this county ceased. 

Number of animals killed by Long in his life-time : bears, 400 ; deer 
(in 1835 one white one), 3500; panthers, 50; wolves, 2000; elks, 125; 
foxes, 400; wild-cats, 200; catamounts, 500; otters, 75. 

Long used to catch fawns, mark their ears, turn them loose, and kill 
them when full-grown deer. Elks were easily domesticated, and sold as 
follows, — viz. : for a living male elk one year old, ,^50 ; two years old, $75 ; 
three years old, $100 ; and for a calf three months old, $25. In 1S35, 
Long had five wolf-dens that he visited annually for pups, about the ist 
of May each year. 

In 1834, Bill Long, his brother Mike, and Ami Sibley started on a 
hunt for elk near where Portland now is. At the mouth of Bear Creek 
these three hunters came across a drove of about forty elks. Bill Long 
fired into the herd and broke the leg of one. This wounded elk began 
to squeal, and then the herd commenced to run in a circle around the 
injured one. Sibley's gun had the wiping-stick fastened in it, and he 
could not use it. 15111 and Mike then loaded and fired into the drove as 
rapidly as they could, the elks continuing to make the circle, until each 
had fired about twenty-five shots, when the drove became frightened and 
ran away. On examination, the hunters found eight large elks killed. 
They then made a raft, ran the load down to where Raught's mill is now, 
and hauled the meat, pelts, and horns to Brookville. 

In 1836, Bill Long took Henry Dull and started on a hunt for a young 
elk. On the third day Long saw a doe elk and calf. He shot the 
mother, and his dog caught the calf and held it without hurting it. 
Long removed the udder from the mother, carrying it with the " teats" 
uppermost, and giving the calf milk from it until they reached Ridgway, 
where a jug of milk was secured, and by means of an artificial " teat" the 
calf was nourished until Long reached his North Fork home. Dull led 
the little creature by a rope around its neck. Mrs. Long raised this elk 
with her cows, feeding it every milking-time, and when the calf grew to 
be some size he would drive the cows home every evening for his supper 
of milk. When this elk was full grown, I,ong and Dull led him to Buf- 
falo, New York, via the pike westward to the Allegheny River, and up 
3S S'^^S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

llirough Warren, and sold the animal for two hundred dollars, — one hun- 
dred dollars in cash and a note for the other hundred, that was never 
paid. 

In the fall of 1836, Long took Henry Dull with him to hunt wolves. 
The second evening, Long found an old wolf with six half-grown pups. 
He shot two and the rest ran away. Long and Dull then climbed a hem- 
lock, and Long began his wolf howl. On hearing the howl, two pups 
and the old wolf came back. Long then shot the mother, and afterwards 
got all the pups. Dull became so frightened that he fell head first, gun 
and all, through the brush, striking the ground with his head, producing 
unconsciousness and breaking his shoulder. " Thanks to the human 
heart, by which we live," for Long nursed Dull at his home on the 
North Fork for three months. Scalps then brought twelve dollars a 
piece. In that same year Fred. Heterick and Bill killed an elk at the 
mouth of Little Toby which weighed six hundred pounds. In 1824, Bill 
Long had a thrilling adventure with a huge panther in what is now War- 
saw township. He, in a hand-to-hand encounter, killed the animal 
near where Bootjack now stands. 

In the winter of 1834, William Dixon, Mike and Bill Long, with 
dogs, went out to "rope" or catch a live elk. They soon started a 
drove on the North Fork, and the dogs chased the drove over to the 
Little Toby, a sliort distance up from the mouth. The dogs separated 
one buck from the drove, and this elk, to protect himself from the dogs, 
took refuge on a ledge of rocks. Bill Long, while Mike and Dixon and 
the dogs attracted the attention of the elk from below, scrambled in some 
way to the top of the rocks and threw a rope over the elk's horns, and 
then cabled the elk to a small tree. This infuriated the elk, so that he 
jumped out over the rocks and fell on his side. Mike and Dixon now 
had the first rope. Bill Long then rushed on the fallen elk and threw 
another rope in a slip-noose knot around the elk's neck, and fastened this 
rope as a guy to a tree. Each rope was then fastened in an opposite direc- 
tion to a tree, and after the buck was choked into submission, his feet 
were tied, and the elk was dragged by these three men on the creek ice to 
where Brockwayville now is. Here they secured a yoke of oxen and sled 
from Ami Sibley, a mighty hunter. A small tree was then cut, the main 
stem being left about five feet long and the two forks about three feet in 
length. Each prong of the tree was fastened to a horn of the buck, 
and the main stem permitted to hang down in front over the buck's nose, 
to which it was fastened with a rope. A rope was then tied around the 
neck and antlers, and the loose end tied around the hind bench of the 
sled ; this drove the elk close up to the hind part of the sled. The ropes 
around the feet of the elk were then cut, and the buck lit on his feet. 
y\fter the animal had made many desperate efforts and plunges, he 
quieted down, and no trouble was experienced until within a few miles 

5«6 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

of Brookville, when, meeting an acquaintance, Dixon became so much ex- 
cited over the success in capturing a live elk, that he ran up and hit the 
elk on the back, exclaiming, " See, we have done it !" and this so scared 
the elk that he made a desperate jump, upsetting the sled into a ditch 
over a log. The oxen then took fright, and in the general melee the elk 
had a shoulder knocked out of place and the capture was a failure. 

There grew in abundance in those days a tree called moose or leather- 
wood. The pioneers used the bark for ropes, which were very strong. 

ELK AND VENISON JERK.- 

This was " venison flesh cut off in a sheet or web about half an inch 
thick and spread on the tops of pegs driven into the ground, whilst under- 
neath a fire was kindled, fed with chips of sassafras and other odorous 
woods, that gradually dried it." The web would be removed and re- 
placed until the jerk was thoroughly dried. The old hunter used to carry 
a little jerk always with him to eat with his bread. This jerk was a 
delicious morsel. Bill Long gave me many a "cut." I think I can 
taste it now. Mike and Bill Long would bring it to Brookville and retail 
it to the people at five cents a cut. 

AN INCIDENT ON THE PIKE. 

In the spring of 1820, when the pike was being constructed, there was 
an early settler by the name of George Eckler living near Port Barnett. 
This man Eckler liked a spree, and the Irish that worked on the pike 
were not averse to " a wee drop at ony time." A jug or two of Long's 
" Mountain Dew" whiskey, fresh from the still, was secured, and a jolly 
" Donnebrook fair" time was had one night in the woods. Eckler came 
in for the worst of it, for his eyes were blackened and he was battered up 
generally. On sober reflection he concluded to swear out a warrant before 
Thomas Lucas, Esq., for the " Paddies of the pike." The warrant was 
placed in the hands of the constable, John Dixon, Sr. There were about 
twenty-five in this gang of Paddies, and Constable Dixon summoned a posse 
of eight to assist in the arrest. This posse consisted of the young Dixons, 
Longs, and McCulloughs, and when this solid column of foresters reached 
the Irish on the pike, one of the Paddies told the constable to "go home 
and attend to his own business." He then commanded the pike battalion 
to remove the handles from their picks and charge on the posse. This 
they did, to the complete rout of the natives, chasing them all in con- 
fusion like a herd of deer through and across Mill Creek. Young Bill 
Long was with this posse, and he ran home, too, but only to arm him- 
self, not with a shillelah, but with his flint- lock, tomahawk, and knife. 
Thus armed and single-handed he renewed the conflict, keeping in the 
woods and above the Irish, and sending balls so close to their heads that 

5«7 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the whiz could be heard, until he drove the whole pack, with their carts, 
etc., from above Port Barnett to where Brookville now stands. 

As I remember Long, he was about five feet and four inches high, 
chubby, strongly built, active, athletic, and a great dancer,— danced 
what he called the " chippers" and the "crack," — was cheerful, lively, 
and good-natured. He carried a heavy single-barrel, muzzle-loading rifle. 
His belief was that he could shoot better with a heavy rifle than with a 
light one. Although there were dozens of professional hunters in this 
wilderness, this man was the king. He had an enduring frame, a catlike 
step, a steady nerve, keen eyesight, and a ripe knowledge of all the laws 
governing " still hunts for deer and bear." To reach the great skill he 
attained in mature life required natural talents, perseverance, sagacity, 
and habits of thought, as well as complete self-possession, self-control, 
and quickness of execution. 

In these woods Long had great opportunities for perfecting himself in 
all that pertained to proficiency in a great hunter. Of the other hunters 
that approached him, I only recall his brothers, the Knapps, the three 
Vastbinders, the Lucases, the Bells, the Nolfs, Sibley, Fred. Heterick, 
Indian Russell, and George Smith, who is still living. 

The professional hunter was created by the law of 1705 under the 
dynasty of William Penn, The law reads as follows : 

"An Act for the Killing of Wolves. For preventing the De 

STRUCTION OF ShEEP AND CaTTLE BY WoLVES. 

"Section i. Be it enacted by John Evans, Esquire, by tJie Queeii s 
roxal approbation Lieutenant-Governor under William Penn, Esquire, ab- 
solute Proprietary and Governor-in- Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania 
and Territories, by and with the advice and consent of the freemen of the 
said Province in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, 
That if any person within this province shall kill a dog- wolf, he shall have 
ten shillings, and if a bitch-wolf, fifteen shillings, to be paid out of the 
county stock. Provided swch. person brings the wolf's head to one of the 
justices of the peace of that county, who is to cause the ears and tongue 
of the said wolf to be cut off. And that the Indians, as well as others, 
shall be paid for killing wolves accordingly. 

" Seciion 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
all and every person or persons who are willing to make it their business 
to kill wolves, and shall enter into recognizance before two or more jus- 
tices of the peace of the respective counties where he or they dwell, with 
sufficient security in the sum of fwQ pounds, that he or they shall and will 
make it his or their sole business, at least three days in every w'eek, to 
catch wolves, shall have twenty-five shillings for every wolf, dog or bitch, 
that he or they shall so catch and kill within the time mentioned in the 

5SS 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

said recognizance, to be paid out of the county levies where the wolves 
are taken as aforesaid." 

Repealed by the acts of 17S2 and 1S19. 

Long's early dress was a coon-skin cap, moccasin shoes, a hunting- 
shirt, and generally buckskin breeches. The hunting-shirt was worn by 
all these early hunters, and sometimes in militia drill. It was a kind 
of frock, reached down to the thighs, had large sleeves, was open be- 
fore, and lapped over a foot or so when belted. This shirt was made of 
linsey, coarse linen, or of dressed buckskin. The deer-skin shirt was 
cold and uncomfortable in wet and cold rains. The bosom of the shirt 
served as a receptacle for rye bread, wheat cakes, tow for cleaning the 
rifle, jerk, punk, flint and knocker to strike fire with, etc. Matches were 
first made in 1829, but were not used here for many years after that. 
I'he belt was tied behind ', it usually held the mittens, bullet-bag, toma- 
hawk, and scali)ing-knife in its long buckskin sheath. The moccasin in 
cold weather was sometimes stuffed with feathers, wool, and dry leaves. 
The heavy early rifles carried about forty- five bullets to a pound of lead. 
The hand-to-hand conflicts of this noted hunter with panthers, bears, 
catamounts, wolves, elks, and bucks, both on the land and in the streams, 
if written out in full, would make a large volume of itself. Elks and deer 
frequently took to the creeks, and a battle royal with knife and horns 
would have to be fought in the water. Long was several times mistaken 
while in a thicket for a wild animal, and careless hunters shot at him. 
Once his cheek was rubbed with a ball. Dozens of Indians and pale- 
faced men hunted in this wilderness as well as he, and the table giving 
an exhibit of the aggregate number of animals killed by Long during his 
life as a hunter only goes to show what a great zoological garden of wild 
animals this wilderness must have been. For some of the data in this 
article I am indebted to Mrs. Dr. Gibson, /lee Anna McCreight, of Rey- 
noldsville, Pennsylvania. 

William Long died in Hickory Kingdom, Clearfield County, Penn- 
sylvania, in May, 1S80, and was buried in the Conway Cemetery, leaving 
two sons, — Jack, a mighty hunter, and a younger son, William. 

Peace to his ashes. In the haunts of this wilderness, scorched by the 
summer sun, pinched by the winds of winter wailing their voices like 
woe, separated for weeks at a time in his lonely cabins from the society 
of men and women, and then, too, awakened in the dark and dreary 
nights by the howl of the wolf, the panther's scream, and the owl's 
to-hoo ! to-hoo : Long steadily, year in and year out, for sixty years 
pursued this wild, romantic life. 

THE HABITS OF SOME OF THE GAME LONO HINTED. 

Our bears cub in February, have two cubs at a l)irth, and these cubs 
are about the size of a brown rat, without hair, and blind for nine days. 

5S9 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

They are suckled by the mother for about three months, when they reach 
the size of a cat ; then the mother takes them out and teaches them to eat 
nuts, berries, bugs, little animals, green corn, vegetables, hogs, sheep, and 
sometimes cattle. A full-grown bear will weigh four hundred pounds. 
He is exceedingly strong. He can carry a heavy burden and walk on 
his hind legs for a long distance. 

He frequently gnawed himself out of hunters' pens, is a bold, intelli- 
gent beast, and his meat was considered a delicacy by the hunters. 

Bears lived in "homes," holes, or dens, and sometimes in a rocky 
place there would be a "community." They, like deer, follow their 
own paths. 

Our panther was fully as strong as the bear, but was rather cowardly, 
and especially fearful of dogs. A single blow from one forefoot or a bite 
from a panther would kill a dog. As a preservation, the panther hunter 
always had a trained dog with him, for a single bark from a dog would 
often scare a panther up a tree. The panther, as a rule, sought and 
sprang upon his victim in the dark. He could throw a buck, hog, or 
cow without a struggle. A panther attained sometimes a length of ten 
feet from nose to end of tail. They lived in dens and had two cubs at 
a time. 

Rowe, of Clearfield, says of the hunter Dan Turner, "Once, when 
going out to a ' bear wallow,' his attention was attracted by a panther 
acting in a strange manner. He soon saw a large bear approaching it. 
With hair erect and eyes glaring, the panther gnashed his teeth, and, 
waiting until bruin came up, sprang upon him. A mortal struggle ensued. 
Turner watched with much interest the fight, which lasted some ten 
minutes or more. At last the growls of the fierce combatants became 
faint, and the struggle ceased. The panther slowly disengaged himself 
from his dead enemy and took position upon the carcass. It was now 
Turner's time, and, raising his rifle, he shot the panther in the head. After 
examining it, he was of the opinion that it could have lived but a very 
few minutes longer. Nearly every bone in its body was broken, and its 
flesh was almost reduced to a pulp by the blows and hugs of the bear." 

Our wolves always had their dens in the wildest, most hidden part of 
the wilderness. They always manage to get under the rocks or ground 
to shelter themselves and young from all storms. The male fed the 
female when the " pups" were small He would travel a great distance 
in search of food, and if what he found was too heavy to carry home, he 
would gorge himself with it and go home and vomit it up for the family. 
The wolf and fox were very chary and hard to trap. IJut Long and 
other hunters knew their habits so well that they could always outwit 
them. 

A wolf could carry a sheep for miles in this way : seize it by the throat 
and throw it over or on his back. Wolves hunted the deer in packs ; they 

59^ 



PIONEER HISTORY OE JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

all hunted together until a deer was started. The pack would keep up 
the chase until they were tired ; then one wolf would keep up the chase at 
full speed, while the balance of the pack watched, and when the deer 
turned a circle, fresh and rested wolves struck in and pursued ; thus the 
deer was pursued alternately by fresh wolves and soon tired out, and 
would then fly to some stream ; the wolves would follow, and while the 
deer would remain in the stream the wolves would separate, a part of the 
pack forming in line on each side of the stream, when the deer would 
become an easy prey to these ravenous creatures. 

The most dangerous animal or reptile was the rattlesnake. We had 
these colors : the black, yellow, or spotted. Millions of them inhabited 
these woods, and some were four and five feet long. Snakes, as well as 
other wild animals, travel and seek their food in the night. To escape 
this danger, each pioneer kept a large herd of hogs, who would kill and 
eat snakes with impunity. Dogs, too, were faithful in this direction. 
But how did the woodsman and hunter escape ? Well, he wore woollen 
stockings, moccasins with anklets, and buckskin breeches. A snake 
could not bite through these, and at night he usually laid his head on the 
body of his dog to protect his upper extremities. 

It was seldom that the elk or deer had twins. The bear, panther, 
and wolf always had a litter. Wolves reared in the same pack lived 
friendly, but strange males always fought. 

The deer, when frightened, circled round and round, but never left 
his haunt. The elk would start on a trot, and never stop under ten or 
fifteen miles. The bear was and is a wanderer, — here to-day and away 
to-morrow. The wolf and panther were fierce and shy. 



591 



APPENDIX. 



SOME LOCAL HISTORY—A LINCOLN STORY— THE MEMORABLE CAM- 
PAIGN OF 1864. 

In the spring of 1864 we had thirty thousand human, living skeletons 
in rebel prisons. The war had been carried on for three years. The 
following great and sanguinary battles had been fought, — viz. : Bull Run, 
Seven Pines, Fort Donelson, Fort Pillow, Shiloh, Seven Days' battle in 
Virginia, second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Stone 
River, Chancellorsville, (Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Cold Harbor, Spott- 
sylvania, and the Wilderness. These l)attles, or most of them, had been 
the bloodiest that modern history records. In our sorrow and despair, 
the most bitter antagonisms existed at home between the war and anti- 
war people. A new President was to be elected that year, and in order 
to save the country and to punish rebellion, nearly all patriots — this 
included war Democrats — believed that the re election of Lincoln was 
absolutely necessary. Actuated by these impulses, Judge Joseph Hender- 
son, of Brookville, was chosen our Congressional delegate to the national 
convention, which was to meet on the 7th of June, 1864, in Baltimore, 
Maryland. Judge Henderson, Major Andrews, and myself were warm 
friends. The judge was a great friend of Lincoln and Johnson. On the 
5th of June I accompanied the judge to Baltimore. Our State delegation 
consisted of fifty-two men, — forty-eight district delegates and four at 
large, — viz., Simon Cameron, W. W. Ketcham, Morrow 15. Lowry, and A. 
K. McClure. Simon Cameron was made chairman of the delegation. The 
following States were represented in that body : Maine, A'ermont, New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennes- 
see, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Cali- 
fornia, Oregon, West Virginia, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, and 
Missouri. There was a dispute as to the right of Tennessee to represen- 
tation, but the convention voted them in. In this the judge voted aye, 
and on the first ballot Lincoln received every vote except Missouri, which 
cast a solid vote for General Grant. For Vice-President, Andrew John- 
son, of Tennessee, was nominated on first ballot over Hamlin, of Maine, 
Dickinson, of New York, and Rosseau, of Kentucky. It was thought by 

593 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 

the convention expedient to strengthen the ticket by nominating a man 
for this office who was known to be a war Democrat and from the South, 
and as this was a convention of freemen, wise leaders, and not of bosses, 
the people and wisdom ruled. 

From Baltimore I went to Washington on business to see Stanton. I 
found him haughty and austere. I therefore sought and received an audi- 
ence at the White House. I had heard Lincoln denounced verbally and 
in the newspapers as " Lincoln, the gorilla," " Lincoln, the ape," " Lin- 
coln, the baboon," etc., and, true enough, I found him to be a very 
homely man, tall, gaunt, and long-limbed, but courteous, sympathetic, 
and easily approached. My business with him was this : In 1S63 a thir- 
teen-year-old boy from Jefferson County, whose father had been killed 
in battle, was recruited and sold for bounty into the Fourteenth United 
States Regulars at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. After a few months' service, 
this boy, tired of military life, was told by his soldier companions that he 
could not be held in the service, and, instead of demanding his discharge 
in a proper way, unceremoniously left and deserted, for which he was 
afterwards arrested, court-martialled, and sentenced to be shot. As early 
as April 28, and after that, legal efforts were put forth, and military in- 
fluence used by myself and others to save this boy, but without avail. 

" Adjutant-General's Office, 
" Washington, D.C, April 28, 1S64. 

" Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your commu- 
nication of the 9th ultimo, requesting the discharge of from the 

military service of the LTnited States, of the Fourteenth United States In- 
fantry, on the ground of minority, and to inform you in reply that he is 
now under arrest for trial by court-martial for desertion, and no action 
can be taken for his discharge, or that will prevent his punishment if 
found guilty. 

" I am, sir, very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

"Thomas M. Vincent, 
'^Assistant Adjutant- Gc/irral. 
" W. J. AfcKNicHT, Brookville, Pa." 

My business was to save this boy's life, and while everything else had 
been done by legal talent and military influence, I went to Lincoln with 
a sad heart. He was at that time perha|)s the busiest man in the world. 
He listened patiently to my story, and then said, " Is all this true. Dr. 
McKnight, that you have told me? Will no one here listen to you?" 
I replied, " Yes, Mr. President, it is all true." He arose, reached for his 
hat, and remarked to me, " I'll be a friend to that fatherless boy." He 
put his arm in mine and took me to Stanton's office, and, after a few 

594 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

minutes' talk with the Secretary, he turned to me and said, " You can go 
home, doctor, and if that boy has not been shot, you can rest assured he 
will be discharged." In due time, after my return home, I received by 
mail the following : 

" Adjutant-General's Office, 
" Washington, D. C, July 13, 1864. 

"Sir, — I have the honor to inform you that, by direction of the 
President, , alias John Scott, Fourteenth United States Infan- 
try, was discharged the military service of the United States, by special 
orders No. 204, Par. 25, current series, from this office. 
" I am, sir, very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" Samuel Breck, 
'^Assistant Adjutant- General. 
"Mr. W. J. McKnight, Brookville, Pa." 

Washington at this time was the greatest panorama of war in modern 
times. It took me days to secure an audience with Mr. Lincoln. I was 
then, and am yet, perhaps too ultra and bitter a Republican, but after 
this humane act of President Lincoln I was as bitter a partisan as ever, 
and, in addition to that, a personal admirer of Lincoln from the crown 
of my head to the end of my toes. The call for our county convention 
that year was issued July 13, 1864, as follows, — viz. : 

"delegate election. 

"The Republicans of Jefferson County will meet in their respective 
townships and boroughs on Tuesday, the 2d day of August, between the 
hours of two and six o'clock p.m., to elect two delegates of each township 
and borough, to meet at the court-house in the borough of Brookville, on 
Friday, the 5th day of August, at one o'clock, to nominate candidates to 
be supported for the different county offices. 

" M. M. Meredith, 
'• Chairman County Committee.'" 

The county then had twenty three townships and four boroughs, 
giving us fifty-four delegates. The date fixed for the primaries was on 
the day set by the law of the State, passed in the spring of that year, for 
the si)ecial election for three amendments to our Constitution, one of 
which was to permit the soldiers in the field to vote. The date fixed for 
this call was a shrewd policy, as it materially assisted in bringing out a 
full Republican primary, and was a great aid in carrying that "soldier 
vote" issue in the county, which we did, as the full return gave fourteen 
hundred and ninety-seven for this amendment and twelve hundred and 
twenty against it, a majority of two hundred and seventy-seven. This 

595 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

issue was bitterly fought. After the national convention I had been ap- 
pointed a member of the Union State Central Committee by Simon Cam- 
eron, who was then chairman of that committee, and this soldier cam- 
])aign in the county was conducted by Captain Meredith. The county 
convention was held on August 5, as called, and the following ticket 
selected: For District Attorney, A. C. White; County Commissioners, 
I. C. Jordan, Eli B. Irvin ; Auditor, Joseph P. North; Trustees of 
Academy, P. H. Shannon, M. M. Meredith, Calvin Rodgers. 

G. W. Andrews was made county chairman. Our Representative dis- 
trict was Clarion and Jefferson, and on September 9, at Corsica, Hunter 
Orr, of Clarion County, was declared the nominee for the Legislature. 
On September 15, G. W. Schofield was declared in Ridgway our nominee 
for Congress. Dr. A. M. Clarke and S. W. Temple were our conferees 
there. This completed our ticket. There were no State officers to be 
elected. Nothing but district and county tickets in that October elec- 
tion. I do not recollect who was the Democratic chairman, but it is im- 
material, for ex-Senator K. L. Blood dominated and controlled the Demo- 
cratic party in this county then, and a bold, wiry, vigorous antagonist he 
was. Our Democratic Dutch friends used to make this reply : " I do not 
know how I votes. I votes for der Kennedy Blute anyhows." School- 
house meetings were held in all the townships. Local speakers were 
scarce. Most of them were in the army, and this labor then principally 
devolved upon Andrews and me. Dr. Heichhold was furloughed about 
October 20 to help us. In our meetings we all abused Blood, and he 
in return abused us. Major Andrews was a great worker, and usually 
took a number of papers and documents to read from. What little I 
said was off-hand. The major would always say in his speeches that 
"the common people of the Democrats were honest, but the leaders of 
that party were rascals, traitors, and rebels." He was a Maine Yankee. 
We elected him to the State Constitutional Convention in 1S72, and after 
his service there he removed to Denver, where he lived and died. 

For the August and October elections we had no funds excei)t our 
own, and we were all poor alike. Our newspaper editor was John Scott, 
p]sq. He was poor, too ; paper was high and hard to get. and, as a con- 
sequence of this, our organ, the Republican., was only published occasion- 
ally, and often only half-sheets : hence our meetings had to be adver- 
tised verbally and by written and printed posters. I had one horse. I 
traded some books for a second-hand buggy, and bought another horse 
that I would now be ashamed to own, and in this buggy and behind this 
team the major and I drove the circuit in October and November, stop- 
ping for dinner and over night, Methodist preacher fashion, with the 
brethren. It was a rainy fall, and all through October and November 
there was mud,- — mud rich and deep, mud here and there, mud on the 
hill and everywhere, mud on the ground and in the air, and to those who 

596 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

travelled politically it was a mud-splashing as well as a mud-slinging cam- 
paign. We had a mass meeting on October 8 in Brookville, and on that 
day we had a strong address published, reviewing the issues to the people, 
signed by I. G. Gordon, Philip Taylor, T. K. Litch, A. S. Rhines, R. G. 
Wright, and J. P. Wann. The speakers for the mass-meeting were Chair- 
man Andrews, Colonel Childs, of Philadelphia, Congressman Myers, and 
A. L. Gordon. J. W. Pope, the great campaign singer, from Philadel- 
phia, by his patriotic songs, impelled us all to greater earnestness. In the 
October struggle we lost our county and Representative ticket, but Scho- 
field was re-elected to Congress. A Congressman then never thought of 
having one or two bosses in a county to dispense post-offices. The Demo- 
crats carried the State on the home vote ; but, with the aid of the sol- 
diers, we carried the State by a small majority. The anti-war Democrats 
greatly rejoiced at their victory on the home vote, and they confidently 
expected, as McClellan was a Pennsylvanian, that State pride would carry 
him through in November. The two elections were about one month 
apart. The soldier vote was denounced as the "bayonet vote" and 
"bayonet rule." Simon Cameron, our State chairman, was greatly dis- 
appointed at the loss of our State on the " home vote." After the Octo- 
ber election Cameron sent me a draft for two hundred dollars in " rag- 
money," which I expended as judiciously as I knew how. We gained in 
the county sixty votes for the November election. I am sorry that I can- 
not give the manner of expenditure of this money. My accounts were 
all audited and the settlement-paper left with G. W. Andrews. McClel- 
lan had been the idol of the army and the people, and although he and 
Pendleton were nominated at Chicago on August 31, 1S64, on a peace 
platform that the war had been a failure and a call to suspend hostilities, 
there never was a day that McClellan would not have been overwhelm- 
ingly elected in 1864, until in September, when Sherman captured At- 
lanta and Sheridan went whirling through the valley of Virginia. Every- 
body, Lincoln and all, knew this. These two victories gave the Union 
people great heart for hard work. After these victories, Fremont and 
Cochrane, who had been nominated at Cleveland, Ohio, on May 31, 
1864, for President and Vice-President by radicals of the Republican 
party, withdrew, and both supported Lincoln. Our army before Rich- 
mond was idle, and, to effectually stop the " bayonet rule" charge, Meade 
furloughed five thousand soldiers for two weeks. Sheridan did the same, 
making ten thousand in all, and they were home and voted. This gave us 
the State on the home vote by about five, and with the " bayonet vote," 
by about twenty, thousand. In this election our county went as follows : 

Lincoln. McCltUan. 

Home vote 1614 1756 

Army vote 207 III 

Total vote 1821 1867 

597 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

In the November election our county went Democratic ; but we Re- 
])ublicans had a grand jubilee after the returns came in from the na- 
tion, as McClellan only carried three States, — viz., Kentucky, Delaware, 
and New Jersey. Brevity requires many things that I would delight to 
say about Lincoln and this campaign to be omitted. Republican suc- 
cess gave assurance to the world that "the war for the Union would 
still be prosecuted," and it was, and Pennsylvania performed her 
duty, both politically and on the battle-fields. Pennsylvania gave to 
the national government during the war three hundred and sixty-seven 
thousand four hundred and eighty-two soldiers, and during the same 
period organized and put in the field eighty- seven thousand men for 
State defence, making a grand total of four hundred and fifty-four 
thousand four hundred and eighty-two soldiers. Three times during 
the war Pennsylvania was invaded, and it remained for the Rebel- 
lion to receive its Waterloo at Gettysburg and from a Pennsylvania 
commander. 

In conclusion, it was the soldiers' bayonets and the " bayonet voters" 
of " Lincoln's hirelings" that crushed rebellion and saved the L-nion. 

"BROOKVILLE'S PIONEER RESURRECTION; OR, 'WHO SRINNED THE 
NIGGER?'— THE TRUTH TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME, BY THE 
ONLY ONE NOW LIVING OF THE SEVEN WHO WERE ENGAGED 
IN IT— ORIGIN OF THE STATE ANATOMICAL LAW* 

" On Sunday morning, November 8, 1857, Brookville was thrown into 
a state of the greatest commotion and excitement, occasioned by the 
discovery by W. C. Smith (then a lad of fifteen) of the mutilated re- 
mains of a human being in an ice-house belonging to K. L. Blood, on 
the corner of Pickering Street and Coal Alley, or where Mrs. Banks 
now lives. When discovered by Smith, the door was broken open, 
having been forced during the night, and the body was found lying 
on the ice, with a board under the shoulders and head, the legs and 
arms spread apart, the intestines taken out, a lump of ice placed in 
the abdominal cavity, and the body literally skinned, the cuticle hav- 
ing been removed entirely from the crown of the head to the soles of 
the feet. 

" Filled with terror, young Smith ran from the spot, telling his dis- 
covery to all he met. Men, women, and children rushed en masse to the 
ice-house. Thoughts of savage butchery, suicide, and horror took hold 
of the people. Women cried, and men turned i)ale with indignation. 
The news of Smith's discovery spread like wildfire, and the excitement 
and indignation became more and more intense as hundreds of men, 



* r.y W. J. McKnij^ht, M.D. 
59S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

women, and children from the town and vicinity gathered around the 
lonely ice-house. It was at first supposed to be murder most foul ; but, 
on a closer inspection of the 'remains' by Henry R. Fullerton, a little 
'curly hair,' resembling 'negro wool,' was found lying loose near the 
body. This was a clue. Fullerton then declared it was the mutilated 
corpse of one Henry Southerland, who had died about ten days before and 
been buried in the old graveyard. Tools were at once procured by the 
excited mob, led by Henry R. Fullerton, Cyrus Butler, Sr. , Richard 
Arthurs, Esq., and others, and a rush was made for Southerland's grave. 
Arriving there, and upon the removal of a few shovelfuls of dirt, a loose 
slipper was found, and farther on its mate. When the coffin was reached, 
the body was found to be gone, and only the clothes, torn off and lying 
inside, were to be seen. What was this desecration for? Cyrus Butler, 
Sr., a gruff old man, said, ' For money.' He boldly asserted that men 
nowadays would do anything for money. 'Yes,' he said, 'skin human 
excrement and eat the little end on't.' Soon, in the absence of any bet- 
ter theory, everybody seemed to accept his belief, and it was positively 
asserted from one to another that ' a negro hide would sell for five 
hundred dollars, to make razor strops, ' etc. 

" During the entire day the mob were at sea. The officials permitted 
the body to remain exposed, — a revolting spectacle to men, women, and 
children. To all of this I was an interested spectator. 

"At nightfall an inquest was summoned of twelve men by Justices 
John Smith and A. J. Brady, as appears from the following Quarter 
Sessions' record : 

(Copy.) 

" commonwealth's summons to jurors. 

"'November 8, 1857. Served personally on all the within-named 
jurors. Cost, si.20. 

'"C. Butler, 

" ' Constable. 



" ' The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to C. Butler, constable of the 
township of Pine Creek, in the county of Jefferson : Wo. command you 
immediately upon sight hereof, to summon twelve good and lawful men 
of Jefferson County aforesaid, whose names are hereto annexed, to be and 
appear before A. J. Brady and John Smith, two of the justices of the 
peace of the county of Jefferson, at the ice-house of K. L. Blood & 
Brother, in the borough of Brookville, at four o'clock p.^l of this day ; 
then and there to inquire of, do, and execute all things as in our behalf 
shall be lawfully given them in charge, touching the supposed body of 
Henry Southerland ; and be you then and there to certify what you shall 

599 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

have done in the premises ; and, further, to do and execute what in our 
behalf shall be then and there enjoined you. 

" ' Given under our hands and seals, this Sth day of November, '185 7. 

" 'A. J. Brady, [l. s.] 
John Smith, [l. s ] 

"'The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, greeting, to E. R. Brady, 
John J. Y. Thompson, A. Craig, John Boucher, L. A. Dodd, Christopher 
Smathers, Henry Fullerton, G. W. Andrews, S. C. Arthurs, John Carroll, 
John Ramsey, D. Smith. 

" subpq:na for witnesses. 

"'November 8, 1857. Served personally on the within names by 
reading. Cost, $1.75. 

" ' C. Fullerton, 

Constable. 



i( i 



"'The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to K. L. Blood, Thomas 
Espy, J. P. George, Joseph Darr, Thomas Graham, John Hamilton, 
William J. McKnight, T. B. McLain, James Dowling, James Scott, J. S. 
Steele, George Smith, A. B. McLain, Charles Windsor, Robert St. Clair, 
J. P. Miller, West. Bowman, greeting : We command you and every of 
you, that you set aside all business and excuses whatsoever, you do in 
your proper persons appear before A. J. Brady and John Smith, two of 
the justices of the peace in and for said county of Jefferson, and an inqui- 
sition now sitting at the office of John Smith, Esq., in the borough of 
Brookville, in said county, to testify the truth and give such information 
and evidence as you and every of you shall know touching the man- 
ner in which the said body of Henry Southerland, or some person un- 
known, lying at the ice-house of K. L. Blood & Brother, in the borough 
of Brookville, dead, came by his death or came there, and touching all 
other matters in relation to which you shall be examined. And this you 
are in nowise to omit, under the penalty that may ensue. 

" ' Witness our hands and seals, at Brookville, the Sth day of Novem- 
ber, A.D. 1857. 

" 'A. J. Brady, [l. s.] 

John Smith, [l. s.] 
"coroner's inquest. 

" ' Proceedings of the coroner's inquest, held in the borough of Brook- 
ville, upon the body of a man found in the ice-house belonging to K. E. 
Blood, on the corner of Pickering Street and Spring [Coal] Alley, on the 
morning of Sunday, November 8, 1857. 

" 'In pursuance of the summons issued by Justices John Smith and 
A. J. Hrady, the following persons were called and sworn, — to wit: E. 

600 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

R. Brady, J. J. Y. Thompson, Andrew Craig, John IJoucher, Levi A. 
Dodd, Christopher Smathers, Henry R. FuUerton, (t. W. Andrews, S. 
C. Arthurs, John E. Carroll, John Ramsey, Daniel Smith, who re- 
paired to the ice house and made an examination of the l)ody there de- 
posited, and found the remains of a male human being, with the breast 
sawed open, the bowels and entrails removed, the toe-and finger-nails 
cut off at the first joint, and the skin of the entire body removed. 

" 'The grave in which Henry Southerland (colored), of Pine Creek 
township, had been buried having been opened in the presence of a 
number of the jurors and other persons, and it being found that the body 
of said deceased had been removed from the said grave, the following 
witnesses were called and sworn : 

" ' David Banks, sworn : I helped open the grave in which the body 
of Henry Southerland (colored) had been buried ; found no body in the 
coffin ; found the burial clothes rolled up in a bundle and placed in the 
head of the coffin; found one of the slippers in which deceased was 
buried in the clay about a foot above and before coming to the coffin ; 
the body had evidently been removed. 

" ' F. C. Coryell, sworn: Was present at the opening of the grave 
to-day ; saw the coffin opened and no body there ; found the clothes 
thrown in carelessly in a heap ; one slipper with the clothes in the coffin 
and another in the clay some distance above the coffin ; these slippers had 
my cost mark on, and are the same as purchased from me by the friends 
of Henry Southerland for his funeral. 

" 'A. R. Marlin, sworn : Henry Southerland was buried in the grave- 
yard at Brookville on Wednesday or Thursday last ; helped to bury him ; 
the grave opened to-day is the one in which deceased was placed ; no 
body in the coffin when opened to day. 

"'Richard Arthurs, sworn : I examined the body in the ice-house 
this day ; looked at the mouth and tongue ; they resembled those of a 
person who had died of a disease ; two double teeth out ; seemed as if 
they had recently been drawn ; found some hair about the back of the 
neck, which was black and curly ; think it was the hair of a negro, or 
whiskers ; think this is the body of Henry Southerland ; toes, fingers, and 
skin taken off. 

" 'After making these enquiries and believing the body found in the 
ice-house to be that of Henry Southerland, which had been removed 
from the graveyard in the borough of Brookville, the jury caused the 
same to be taken up and deposited in the coffin, and placed in the grave 
from which the body of said Southerland had been removed, and the 
same filled up in their presence ; then returning to the office of John 
Smith, Esq., a justice of the peace, adjourned, to meet at nine o'clock 
to-morrow (Monday) morning. 

" 'The jury render their verdict as follows : That the body found in 

w 60 1 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 



the ice-house is, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the body of 
Henry Southerland, stolen from the grave in which the same had been 
deposited ; and that the skin, bowels, and toe- and finger-nails had been 
removed by some person or ]:)ersons to the jury unknown. 

" ' E. R. Brady, Foreiuati. 
A. J. Brady, 
John Smith, 
" ' E. R. Brady, 

John J. Y. Thompson, 
Andrew Craig, 
John Boucher, 
Levi A. Dodd, 

H. R. FULLERTON, 

C. Smathers, 
G. W. Andrews, 
S. C. Arthurs, 
John E. Carroll, 
John Ramsey, 
I). Smith, 

' ' Coroners Jury . 



[l. 


s."| 


[l. 


S.I 


[l. 


s.] 


[l. 


s. 


[l. 


s. 1 


[l. 


S.I 


['•• 


S. 1 


[l. 


s.] 


[l. 


s 1 


[l. 


s.] 


[l. 


S.I 


[l. 


S.] 


[l. 


S.I 


[l. 


s. J 



"bill of cost on inquisition. 

• Fee of coroner, or justices 

Viewing dead body 

Summoning and qualifying inquest 

" witnesses, each 25 cents, 4 ..... . 

Jurors, 12, each 2 days 24.00 

1-75 

1.20 



54.00 
2-75 
1-37 >^ 
1. 00 



Constable Fullerton 

Constable Butler . . . 
Witnesses' costs : 
David Banks, I day 

F. C. Coryell, I day . 

A. R. Marlin, I day . 

R. Arthurs, I day . . 



62>^ 

62>^ 

62X 

62>^ 

" 'Jefferson County, ss. .• 

" ' We hereby certify that the above is a true bill of the costs in this 
above case. 

" ' Witness our hands and seals, this 15th day of December, a.d. 1857. 

" 'A. J. I'.KADV, [l. s.] 

John S.mi th, [l. s.] 



'•' ' December 17, 1857. It is adjudged that there was i)robable cause 
for holding the in(}tiest. 

" ' By the Court, 

" ' J. S. McCalmont.' 
602 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"This coroner's verdict was supposed to have been manipulated by 
the 'Masons.' It was the custom then to charge all unpopular verdicts 
on ' the Masons.' 

"After the inquest jurors viewed the body and ice-house on Sunday 
evening, a rope was tied around Southerland's neck, he was dragged into 
Coal Alley, thrown into his coffin, and reburied in the old graveyard, 
where lie 

"' Hearts once pregnant with celestial fire, 

Hearts that the rod of empire might have swayed, 
Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre.' 

" Who were the ghouls? As usual, stupidity and ])rejudice came to 
the front, and picked out for vengeance two innocent and inoffensive 
colored men living in the suburbs of the town. 'The law ordained in 
reverence we must hold,' and so on Sunday evening Theresa Sweeney, a 
sister of Southerland's, was sent for, and she made information against 
Charles Anderson and John Lewis. Cyrus Butler, Jr., a constable then 
in Pine Creek township, arrested forthwith these two harmless colored 
men and thrust them into jail. On Monday morning, the 9th, Anderson 
and Lewis had a hearing before Justices Smith and Brady. George W. 
Zeigler, an able lawyer, represented the Commonwealth ; but the poor 
negroes were without friends or a lawyer. However, as there was no 
evidence against them, they were discharged. The excitement was now 
so intense that several newly made graves were opened to see if friends 
had been disturbed. A few timid people placed night-guards in the 
cemetery. 

"In commenting on this atrocity, the Jeffcrsonian said, 'Taking 
everything into consideration, it was one of the most inhuman and bar- 
barous acts ever committed in a civilized community; and although the 
instigators and perpetrators may escape the punishment which their 
brutality demands, they cannot fail to receive the indignant frowns of 
an insulted community. They may evade a prosecution through the 
technicalities of the law, and they may laugh it off, and when we have 
no assurance but our bodies, or those of our friends, may be treated in 
the same manner, cold and hardened must be the wretch who does not 
feel the flame of indignation rise in his breast at the perpetration of such 
an offence. 

;I; ;i; ;[; ^ ^ ii< ;!; ^ ^ 

" ' Since the above was in type and the excitement somewhat allayed, 
it is now believed by every person that the body was placed in the ice- 
house for dissection, and it is supposed that those who had the matter in 
charge had the key to the door and left everything safe and secure on 
Saturday night, and that some thief, knowing that during the warm 
weather butter had been placed there for protection, broken open the 
door and entered the place for the purpose of stealing, and on striking a 

60.^ 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

light or groping around in search of butter, he came across the "dead 
darky," and, in his haste to get away, forgot to shut the door, and we 
have no doubt that the fellow who broke open the door left in a hurry. 
This is, no doubt, the true state of the case.' 

" All this confusion was a good thing for the guilty parties, as it gave 
time for the angry populace to cool off. 

"Who was this Henry Southerland? He was a stout, perfect speci- 
men of physical manhood. He was a son of Charles and Susan Souther- 
land, ///'(• Van Camp. Charles Southerland came here in 1812, — a run- 
away slave. Miss Van Camp came to Port Barnett with her father, 
Fudge Van Camp, in 1801. Henry Southerland was born on the farm 
now owned by John Hoffman. He was a North Forker, and, like the 
other ' North Fork' boys, could drink, swear, wrestle, shoot, jump, 'pull 
square,' and raft. In the latter part of October, 1857, he took the fever 
and died in a few days, aged about thirty years. He lived then on what 
is called the Charles Horn farm. He was married and had one child. 
His widow and daughter now reside in the county, highly respectable 
people. 

" Dr. J. C. Simons was then living in Brookville, practising medi- 
cine under his father in law. Dr. James Dowling. Simons was ambitious 
to become a surgeon. He believed, like all intelligent doctors then, 
that a knowledge of anatomy was the foundation of the healing art. 
Dissection of human bodies then in Pennsylvania was a crime. You 
could dissect mules and monkeys, but not men. It was legal in New 
York State, and was made so in 1789, and this law in New York was 
greatly improved in 1854. New York was the first State in the New 
World to legalize ' the use of the dead to the living.' 

"The first human body dissected was in Alexandria, Egypt, the 
cradle of anatomy. England legalized dissection in 1820. The first 
subject dissected in Jefferson County was in Brookville, in the winter of 
1854-55, by Dr. Ceorge Watt, Dr. }^IcClay, Samuel C. Arthurs, and a 
student, G. W. Burkett, now a doctor in Tyrone City, Pennsylvania. 
This subject was stolen from a graveyard in Clarion County, Pennsylva- 
vania. He was an Irishman who froze to death. He drank too much 
water in his whiskey. 

" .Vmbition is something like love, — laughs at law and takes fearful 
risks. The death of Southerland, Simons thought, was a good chance for 
a subject and a surgical school to advance himself and assist the rest of 
us. On the day of Southerland's death Dr. Simons visited separately 
each of the following doctors in the town, and appointed a meeting to be 
held on Saturday night, October 31, at ten o'clock, in K. E. Blood's 
drug-store, for the purpose of organizing and resurrecting the dead 
negro: Drs. J. G. Simons, John Dowling, Hugh Dowling, A. P. Heich- 
hold, and W. J. McKnight. By request, I secured, on Friday, October 

604 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

30, permission from Dr. Clark to use for our school the empty house 
then owned by him, and where John Means now lives. Augustus Bell, 
an educated gentleman from Philadelphia, who lived and died here, and 
K. L. Blood, both medically inclined, were taken in as friends. 
Promptly at ten o'clock, Saturday night, October 31, 1S57, all these 
parties met in council in the drug-store. Simons, the two Bowlings, 
and ' Little Bell' filled themselves full to the brim with Monongahela 
whiskey. Blood, Heichhold, and McKnight remained dry and took not 
a drop. At about eleven o'clock p.m. we all marched up l^ickering 
Street, with a mattock, shovel, and rope. John Dowling and I were 
quite young men, and were stationed as watchers, or guards. The others 
were to resurrect. Simons and ' Little Bell' worked like ' bees,' and were 
as brave as lions as long as the whiskey stimulated them ; but when that 
died out they kicked and balked badly. Mr. Blood then took hold like 
a hero. He dug, shovelled, broke open the coffin, and ' there, down 
there in the earth's cold breast,' placed the rope around the subject and 
assisted in the resurrection of Southerland. Remember this : 

" ' It was a calm, still night, 
And the moon's pale light 
Shone soft o'er hill and dale,' 

when we, seven ghouls, stood around the empty tomb of Henry Souther- 
land. The grave was then hastily filled, and carefully too. The naked 
corpse was now placed on a 'bier.' John Dowling and I took one side 
side, K. L. Blood and Simons the other, and under the autumn's full moon 
we left the graveyard ; down Barnett Street, crossed Coal Alley, across Jef- 
ferson Street, down to Cherry Alley, at the rear of Judge Clark's prop- 
erty now, and up Cherry Alley to the rear of the lot now owned by John 
Means, and down that lot to the kitchen part of the house, into which 
the body was carried and placed in a little bedroom west and south of 
the kitchen. This was done between the hours of one and two a.m., un- 
observed. Tired and weary, we all went home to rest, and expected to 
open the school on Monday night, the 2d, but for reasons I will give you 
farther on this was not done. 

" On the evening of the 2d of November, 1S57, my mother called me 
to one side and said, ' You have gotten yourself into trouble. You have 
been out nights. Don't say a word to me, just listen. You have been 
helping the other doctors to dig up Henry Southerland. Dr. Heichhold 
told Captain Wise all about it. Wise told his wife, she told Mrs. Samuel 
C. Arthurs, she told Mrs. Richard Arthurs, and Mrs. Richard Arthurs 
told me this afternoon. Now take care of yourself. As you are poor, 
you will have to suffer; the others are all rich and influential.' 

"This was a nitroglycerin explosion to me. I made no rei)ly to my 
dear mother, but left for Blood's drug-store, and repeated to him what 

605 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

mother had told me. His left hand went up as if struck by a Niagara 
electric current. I said to him, ' I want Dr. Clark protected now ; South- 
erland must be removed from his house.' Blood agreed with me. A 
caucus was then called for that night at the store, when it was decided 
to remove the body from the house down through the cellar and secrete 
it under those present front steps of John Means's house, and there it lay 
naked from Monday night until Wednesday night, when the cadaver was 
removed from there to Blood's ice-house, in a large coffee-sack, about 
nine p.m , as follows : McElhose had his printing-office in a little build- 
ing east and on the same lot. It was on that vacant piece next to Cor- 
bett's house now. It was built for and used as a drug-store. There was 
a door under the west side that opened into the under part of the porch 
and the front steps. If McElhose or any of his imps had ever opened that 
door, 'a dreadful sight would have met their startled view.' I was a 
printer and had learned the art in part with McElhose, and I was de- 
tailed to go into his office and make all kinds of noises and detract the 
attention of the printers from any sounds under the porch. This I did 
by dancing, kicking over furniture, etc. I could hear the other parties 
at times ; but McElhose thought I was drunk, or such a fool that he only 
watched and heard me. Everything worked favorably, and ' Black Hen' 
was successfully removed to a house whose inside walls were frigid and 
white. ' In the icy air of night' the school for dissection was opened on 
Wednesday and closed on Saturday morning. As our secret was known 
to so many, and realizing that we could not dissect in Brookville without 
being caught up, we only mutilated the cadaver for our personal safety. 

"At this time Brookville was full of burglars, thieves, and house- 
breakers. ( )n Friday night, the 6th, A. B. McLain was patrolling for 
robbers in Coal Alley, and under the ' ebon vault of heaven, studded with 
stars unutterably bright,' he espied what he thought to be three suspi- 
cious persons, and pounced down on them like a hawk on a chicken. 
The suspects proved to be Drs. Hugh Dowling, Heichhold, and ' Little 
Bell' (Augustus Bellj). McLain was then taken a prisoner by the suspects, 
dumped into the ice-house, and for the first time in his life saw ' a man 
skinned.' The job was completed that night, and the cuticle, toes, 
fingers, and bowels were buried under a large rock in the ' Dark Hollow,' 
on Saturday forenoon, by Drs. Heichhold and John Dowling. 

"For dissection the cadaver is divided into five parts: the head is 
given to one party, the right arm and side to another, the left arm and 
side to a third person, the right leg to a fourth, and the left leg to a 
fifth. In this way Dr. Simons and the four doctors skinned Henry 
Southerland. For us to dissect Southerland would have recpiired about 
fifteen to twenty days. 

"As dissection is a slow and intricate work, and to a\oid discovery 
and arrest, efforts were made to remove as early as possible the subject 

606 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

from town. Dr. David Ralston, then practising medicine in Reynolds- 
ville, was seen, and he agreed to come after the cadaver and take it home 
on Saturday night, the 7th. Dr. W. H. Reynolds, who resides now at 
Prescottville, this county, was then a young man, living on a farm near 
Rathmel, and Dr. Ralston secured his co- operation. On Saturday these 
two gentlemen came to Brookville with two mules in a wagon, and 
stopped at the American Hotel, J. J. Y. Thompson, proprietor. At a 
conference of all parties, it was arranged that Ralston and Reynolds 
should drive to the ice-house from the west end of Coal Alley about 
eleven o'clock p.m. They had a large store-box in the wagon to carry 
the corpse. The night was black dark. At ten p.m. J. Y. said, Til be 
danged to Harry, what are so many doctors loafing here to-night for?' A 
little later, when Ralston ordered out the mules and wagon, Thompson 
was perfectly astonished, and exclaimed, 'I'll be dod danged to Harry 
and dangnation, if you men will leave my house at this late hour and this 
kind of a night for Reynoldsville.' But his objections were futile. We 
ghouls were detailed as follows : Blood and Bell as watchers, Heichhold 
and Hugh Dowling to open the ice-house door, and John Dowling and 
myself to hand the ' cadaver' out of the house to the men in the wagon. 
Explicit directions were given to avoid meeting there and forming a 
crowd. 

" Dr. John Dowling and I were there at our appointed time, but the 
door was unopened, and so we left. Dr. Heichhold in some way lost the 
key at or near the ice-house, and had to go and find a hatchet to open 
the door. This he did, and the wagon came along, and, finding no one 
there, stopped a moment and left without the subject. On the North 
Fork bridge they pushed their box into the creek. I always felt that 
Dowling and myself were somewhat to blame ; but we were young and 
had received orders not to loiter around, and if the door was not opened 
to leave. 

"About eight or nine o'clock on Sunday morning I went up to 
Dowling's and told John we had better go up and 'view the land.' 
When we arrived on the tragic scene we found the door open and broken. 
We peeped in, and while doing so we observed William C. Smith on 
Pickering Street watching us. We walked briskly away up Coal Alley ; 
but our actions and the ' broken door' excited his curiosity, and, hurry- 
ing over to the ice-house, he looked in, only to be horrified, and with 
arms extended towards heaven, pale as death, he ran home, exclaiming 
excitedly to those he met, that a man had been ' skinned alive' in Blood's 
ice-house. He had seen the man, and also saw Dr. John Dowling and 
Tom Espy looking at the man in the ice-house. William C. Smith has 
told his version of the discovery to me many times, and always put ' Tom 
Espy' in my place. 

" In the evening of Sunday, the 8th, loud mutterings against the doc- 

607 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

tors were heard, and we all hid. I hid in the loft above our old kitchen. 
At midnight, ' in the starlight,' I left for McCurdy's, in the Beechwoods. 
Monday morning, Blood had business in Pittsburg. David Barclay, a 
very able man and lawyer, was then our member of Congress, and he 
took charge of the prosecution. He and Blood had a political feud, and 
Barclay thought now was his time to annihilate Blood. Hearing of Bar- 
clay's activity, my brother, the late Colonel A. A. McKnight, then a 
young lawyer, made information against me before Esquire Smith, under 
the act of 1849, to protect graveyards. I returned on Tuesday night, and 
was arrested, taken before Smith, pleaded guilty, and was fined twenty- 
five dollars and costs, which I paid in full to the county commissioners, 
and I was the only one who had to pay a penalty. Under the above act 
the penalty was fine or imprisonment, or both. My conviction before 
Smith was to give me the benefit in court of that clause in the constitu- 
tion which says, ' No person for the same offence shall be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb.' Barclay was a Republican, lUood was a Demo- 
crat. I was a Republican, without money or friends, therefore Barclay 
commenced his prosecution against Blood and me, leaving the others all 
out for witnesses. The criminal records of Justices Smith and Brady for 
some reason have been destroyed, therefore I cannot give them. Barclay 
kept up his prosecution until 1859, as the following legal records of the 
court show. 

(Copy.) 
" 'No. 14 Feby. 1859. Q. S. 

" * Commonwealth 7's. Kennedy L. IHood and William J. McKnight. 

" ' Indictment for removing a dead body from burial-ground, l^rose- 
cutrix, Tracy Sweeney. 

"'Witnesses, Charles Anderson, l'\ C. Coryell, L. A. Dodd, John 
McGiven, A. P. Heichhold, Richard Arthurs, John Dowling, John Car- 
roll, William Smith, Thomas Esjjy, M)Ton Pearsall, Hugh Dowling, 
Aug. Beyle, William Re)nolds, Henry FuUerton, Matthew Dowling, Wil- 
liam Russell, Sinthy Southerland, Zibion Wilber, James Dowling, A. M. 
Clarke, George Andrews, A. B. McLain, William Lansendoffer, I. D. N. 
Ralston, Charles McLain, James McCracken, Charles Matson. In the 
Court of Quarter Sessions for the County of Jefferson, February Session, 
1859. 

"'The grand inquest of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in- 
quiring for the body of the county, ui)on their oaths and affirmations re- 
spectfiilly do present, that Kennedy L. Blood and William J. McKnight, 
late of the County of Jefferson, on the fifth day of November, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven, with force and 
arms, at the County of Jefferson, the burial-ground of and in the borough 
of Brookville there situate, unlawfully did enter and the grave there in 

6(hS 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

which the body of one Henry Southerland deceased had lately before then 
been interred ; and these two, with force and arms, unlawfully, wantonly, 
wilfully, and indecently, did dig open, and afterwards, — to wit, on the 
same day and year aforesaid, — with force and arms, at the county afore- 
said, the body of him, the said Henry Southerland, out of the grave afore- 
said, unlawfully and indecently, did take and carry away, against the 
peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

"'And the grand inquest aforesaid, upon their oaths and affirma- 
tion, do further present, that Kennedy L. Blood and William J. Mc- 
Knight, late of the County of Jefferson, on the fifth day of November, in 
the year of our I^ord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, with 
force and arms, at the County of Jefferson, the burial-ground of and in 
the borough of Brookville there situate, unlawfully and clandestinely, did 
enter, and the grave there in which the body of one Henry Southerland, 
deceased, had lately before then been interred ; and these two, with 
force and arms clandestinely, did dig open, and afterwards, — to wit, on 
the same day and year aforesaid, with force and arms, at the county afore- 
said, the body of him, the said Henry Southerland, out of the grave afore- 
said, clandestinely and indecently, did take, remove, and carry away, 
against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
and contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided. 

" ' A. L. Gordon, 

" ' District Attorney. 

" ' Commonwealth vs. K. L. Blood and William J. McKnight. 
" ' In the Court of Quarter Sessions of Jefferson County. 
"'No. 14 Feby. Session, 1859. Q. S. D. No. 2, page 87. 
" ' Indictment for removing a dead body. Not a true bill. County 
to pay costs. 

"'William M. Johnston, 

" ' Foreman. 

" ' Received of A. L. Gordon, my costs, Hugh Dowling, Charles An- 
derson, John E. Carroll, A. P. Heichhold, W. C. Smith, M. A. Dow- 
ling, A. B. McLain, H. R. Fullerton, M. M. Pearsall. Justice Brady, 
$4.52 ; attorney, :>3.' 

"This indictment was under the act of 1855, 'To protect burial- 
grounds,' the penalty of which was: If any person shall o])en any tomb 
or grave in any cemetery, graveyard, or any grounds set ai)art for burial 
purposes, either private or public, held by individuals for their own use, 
or in trust for others, or for any church or institution, whether incor- 
porated or not, without the consent of the owners or trustees of such 
grounds, and clandestinely or unlawfully remove, or attempt to remove, 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

any human body, or part thereof, therefrom, such person, upon convic- 
tion thereof, shall be sentenced to undergo an imprisonment in the 
county jail or penitentiary for a term of not less than one year, nor more 
than three years, and pay a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, at 
the discretion of the proper court. 

" The witnesses before the grand jury were of two kinds, — those who 
knew and those who didn't know. Those who knew refused to testify, 
on the ground of incriminating themselves, and Judge McCalmont sus- 
tained them. 

"The attorneys for the Commonwealth were A. L. (rordon, district 
attorney, and Hon. David Barclay. Our attorneys were Amor A. 
McKnight, Benjamin F. Lucas, and William P. Jenks. 

" K. L. Blood and Dr. Heichhold, until the day of their death, were 
opposite political party leaders, and whenever either one addressed a 
political assembly some wag or opponent in ambush would always inter- 
rogate the speaker with ' Who skinned the nigger?' 

" Before concluding this article it might be well to say that the ' ice- 
house' was never used for any purpose after November 8, 1857. 

'•■ In 1883, when I was a State senator, I was invited to dine with 
Professor W. H. Pancoast, of Philadelphia. The city, State, and nation 
was agitated over the robbing of ' I,ebanon Cemetery,' in that city. It 
was thought that these subjects were for dissection in Jefferson Medical 
College. Dr. Pancoast was then professor of anatomy in that school. 
While at dinner the question was raised as to what effect this scandal 
would have upon the college. During this talk I broached the idea that 
now would be an opportune time to secure legal dissection for Pennsyl- 
vania. The wisdom of my suggestion was doubted and controverted. I 
defended my position in this wise : The people of the city and State are 
excited, alarmed, and angered, and I would frame the 'act to prevent 
the traffic in human bodies and to prevent the desecration of graveyards. ' 
This would appeal to the good sense of the people, as an effort, at least, 
in the right direction. Dr. Pancoast soon coincided with me, arid from 
that moment took an active interest in the matter. He met with opposi- 
tion at first from those who ought to have supported him ; but I assured 
the doctor if he would get the Anatomical Association of the city to draft 
a suitable law and send it to Senator Reyburn, of that city, I would sup- 
port it from the country, and that we would push it through the Senate. 
Dr. Pancoast deserves great praise for his energy in overcoming the timid- 
ity and fears of the college deans and others in the city, and in finally 
inducing the ' Association' to frame the present act and send it to Senator 
Reyburn. This law in Pennsylvania legalizing dissection was passed 
finally on June 4, 1883. Its passage met serious and able opposition in 
both Houses. I firmly believe that had I not been connected with and 
prosecuted in this pioneer resurrection case in Brookville, I would not 

610 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

have been impelled to propose such a law or to champion it in the 
Senate. As introduced by Senator Reyburn, the title was, ' Senate 
bill 117, entitled An Act for the promotion of medical science, by the 
distribution and use of unclaimed human bodies for scientific purposes, 
through a board created for that purpose, and to prevent unauthorized 
uses and traffic in human bodies.' 

" The act as passed and approved reads as follows, — viz. : 

" * No. 106. An Act for the Promotion of Medical Science by the 
Distribution and Use of Unclaimed Human Bodies for Scien- 
tific Purposes through a Board created for that Purpose, and 
TO prevent Unauthorized Uses and Traffic in Human Bodies. 
" ' Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That the professors of anatomy, the 
professors of surgery, the demonstrators of anatomy, and the demonstra- 
tors of surgery of the medical and dental schools and colleges of this 
Commonwealth, which are now or may hereafter become incorporated, 
together with one representative from each of the unincorporated schools 
of anatomy or practical surgery, within this Commonwealth, in which 
there are from time to time, at the time of the appointment of such rep- 
resentatives, shall be not less than five scholars, shall be and hereby are 
constituted a board for the distribution and delivery of dead human 
bodies, hereinafter described, to and among such persons as, under the 
provisions of this act, are entitled thereto. The professor of anatomy in 
the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, shall call a meeting of 
said board for organization at a time and place to be fixed by him within 
thirty days after the passage of this act. The said board shall have full 
power to establish rules and regulations for its government, and to ap- 
point and remove proper officers, and shall keep full and complete 
minutes of its transactions ; and records shall also be kept under its 
direction of all bodies received and distributed by said board, and of the 
persons to whom the same may be distributed, which minutes and 
records shall be open at all times to the inspection of each member ot 
said board, and of any district attorney of any county within this Com- 
monwealth. 

" 'Section 2. .\11 public officers, agents, and servants, and all offi- 
cers, agents, and servants of any and every county, city, township, 
borough, district, and other municipality, and of any and every almshouse, 
prison, morgue, hospital, or other public institution having charge or 
control over dead human bodies, required to be buried at the public ex- 
pense, are hereby required to notify the said board of distribution, or 
such person or persons as may, from time to time, be designated by said 
board or its duly authorized officer or agent, whenever any such body or 
bodies come to his or their possession, charge, or control ; and shall, 
without fee or reward, deliver such body or bodies, and permit and suf- 

611 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

fer the said board and its agents, and the physicians and surgeons from 
time to time designated by them, who may comply with the provisions 
of this act, to take and remove all such bodies to be used within this 
State for the advancement of medical science ; but no such notice need 
be given nor shall any such body be delivered if any person claiming 
to be and satisfying the authorities in charge of said body that he or she 
is of kindred or is related by marriage to the deceased, shall claim the said 
body for burial, but it shall be surrendered for interment, nor shall the 
notice be given or body delivered if such deceased person was a traveller 
who died suddenly, in which case the said body shall be buried. 

"' Section 3. The said board or their duly authorized agent may 
take and receive such bodies so delivered as aforesaid, and shall, upon 
receiving them, distribute and deliver them to and among the schools, 
colleges, physicians, and surgeons aforesaid, in manner following: Those 
bodies needed for lectures and demonstrations by the said schools and 
colleges incorporated and unincorporated shall first be supplied ; the 
remaining bodies shall then be distributed proportionately and equitably, 
preference being given to said schools and colleges, the number assigned 
to each to be based upon the number of students in each dissecting or 
operative surgery class, which number shall be reported to the board 
at such times as it may direct. Instead of receiving and delivering said 
bodies themselves, or through their agents or servants, the board of dis- 
tribution may, from time to time, either directly or by their authorized 
officer or agent, designate physicians and surgeons who shall receive 
them, and the number which each shall receive : Provided always, how- 
ever, That schools and colleges incorporated and unincorporated, and 
physicians or surgeons of the county where the death of the person or 
such person described takes place, shall be preferred to all others : And 
provided also, That for this purpose such dead body shall be held subject 
to their order in the county where the death occurs for a period not less 
than twenty-four hours. 

"'Sec'iion 4. The said board may employ a carrier or carriers for 
the conveyance of said bodies, which shall be well enclosed within a 
suitable encasement, and carefully deposited free from public observation. 
Said carrier shall obtain receipts by name, or if the person be unknown 
by a description of each body delivered by him, and shall deposit said 
receipt with the secretary of the said board. 

" ' Skction 5. No school, college, physician, or surgeon shall be al- 
lowed or i^ermitted to receive any such body or bodies until a bond shall 
have been given to the Commonwealth by such physician or surgeon, or 
by or in behalf of such school or college, to be approved by the prothon- 
otary of the court of common i)leas in and for the county in which such 
physician or surgeon shall reside, or in which such school or college may 
be situate, and to be filed in the office of said ])rothonotary, which bond 

612 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

shall be in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, conditioned that all 
such bodies which the said physician or surgeon, or the said school or col- 
lege shall receive thereafter shall be used only for the promotion of medi- 
cal science within this State ; and whosoever shall sell or buy such body 
or bodies, or in any way traffic in the same, or shall transmit or convey 
or cause to jjrocure to be transmitted or conveyed said body or bodies, 
to any place outside of this State, shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two 
hundred dollars, or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year. 

" ' Section 6. Neither the Commonwealth nor any county or munici- 
pality, nor any officer, agent, or servant thereof, shall be at any expense 
by reason of the delivery or distribution of any such body ; but all the 
expenses thereof and of said board of distribution shall be paid by those 
receiving the bodies, in such manner as may be specified by said board 
of distribution, or otherwise agreed upon. 

" ' Section 7. That any person having duties enjoined upon him by 
the provisions of this act who shall neglect, refuse, or omit to perform 
the same as hereby required, shall, on conviction thereof, be liable to 
fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars 
for each offence. 

" ' Section 8. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act 
be and the same are hereby repealed. 

" 'Approved — the 13th day of June, a.d. 1883. 

Robert E. Pattison.' 



( ( ( 



" In closing this narrative I quote a paragraph from my remarks in 
the Senate in support of the passage of the law and in reply to the 
speeches of other senators : 

"'Where would the humanity exist then, especially that kind of 
which so much is said in regard to the dead ? Humanity, I think, should 
first be shown to the living, and the Great Physician, whom senators 
quote on this floor as having had a regard for humanity, said, " Let the 
dead bury the dead." He took the same practical view that humanity 
should be practised for the living. We take a harsh view as medical 
men in regard to the dissection of dead bodies. We consider subjects 
just as clay. I know this is repugnant to the common idea of mankind, 
but it is the true idea. It is the idea that will enable a medical man to 
be of sound, practical good, professionally, in the world. For the crushed, 
relief in life is the great object, not relief after death. \\q have nothing 
to do with that. Beautiful poetry and nice homilies can be delivered 
here by senators about death, but it is the living that we want to be 
humane to and not the dead, and if it requires the dissection of ninety- 
nine dead persons to relieve one living sufferer, I would dissect the 
ninety-nine dead persons and relieve the one living person. Other 

613 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

senators here would have us do just the reverse of that. I repeat, Mr. 
President, this measure is in the interest of the laboring man ; it is in 
the interest of the mechanic ; it is in the interest of science ; it is in the 
interest of the poor the world over ; it is in the interest of the man who 
gets torn and lacerated in our mines and workshops, and who is too poor 
to travel to Philadelphia for his surgical aid. Enact this law, and the 
young man can go from Allegheny, from Jefferson, and from Armstrong 
Counties to Philadelphia, and he can legally take the human body, which 
is the A B C of all medical knowledge, and he can dissect it there, and 
learn by that means just where each artery is, and where each vein is, 
and where the different muscles lie and the different relations they sus- 
tain to one another, and then he is qualified to return to Allegheny or 
lefferson Counties, locate at the cross-roads or in the village, and per- 
form the operations that are so much needed there for the relief of suffer- 
ing humanity and the suffering poor. 

"'You all know that the surgeons of Philadelphia are famous, not 
only in Philadelphia, but throughout the world, and why? It is be- 
cause they have studied the anatomy of the human body so thoroughly 
and so perfectly. 

" ' We must have anatomical dissections. No man learns anatomy in 
any other way in the world than through anatomical dissections. Pic- 
tures, models, and manikins won't do. He must not only dissect one 
body, but he must dissect a large number of bodies. He cannot dissect 
too many, neither can he dissect too often ; therefore humanity requires 
that this dissection be legalized and go on. 

" ' Of course, we must have some regard for the sentiment of the 
living, and to respect that, we, in this bill, only ask that the unclaimed 
bodies of paupers be given to the medical colleges, not the bodies of 
those having friends. No body can be taken if any one objects.' 

"We have now, in 1897, legalized dissection of the human body in 
twenty-four States, and, as a result, the skill of the physician in the future 
' shall lift up his head, and in the sight of great men he shall stand in 
admiration.' " — Jeffersoniaii Dcinocraf, January, 1897. 

THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE. 

The following is an extract from the proceedings held in Brookville, 
Pennsylvania, November 23, 1896: 

"The Jefferson County Teachers' Institute met in the court-house, 
lirookville, on Monday, at two p.m. After the enrollment of teachers 
and the selection of T. T. Millen as secretary, the following address of 
welcome to the teachers was delivered by Dr. W. J. McKnight, of Brook- 
ville : 

614 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" ' Mr. Chairman and Teachers, — This is an assemblage-of teachers, 
called an " institute" — the institute of Jefferson County. What is its his- 
tory? Let us lift the veil from the past and ascertain. The Rev. John 
C. Wagaman, of Punxsutawney, was our first county superintendent, 
elected in 1854, and ])aid a salary of three hundred dollars a year. He 
resigned in 1856, and Samuel McElhose, of Brookville, succeeded him 
by appointment. Our first county institute was held by McElhose, in 
the old Academy building, in Brookville, in October of 1856, continuing 
two weeks. The published call for it read as follows : 

" ' " TO TEACHERS. 

" ' " Believing that much good can be done to the cause of common 
school education by means of a county institute for the benefit of teach- 
ers, I hereby issue this call to teachers and those who wish to teach, re- 
questing and urging each one of them to meet in Brookville on Monday, 
the 20th day of October, at which time will commence in the Academy 
the first session of the Jefferson County Teachers' Institute. It will last 
two weeks. 

" ' " Professor S. W. Smith will be present during the session. He is 
a graduate of the best of the New England schools, and has the advantage 
of several years' practice as a teacher. The course of instruction will 
extend to a general review of the branches required to be taught in our 
common schools. It will be our leading object to treat at large on the 
subjects of school government, classification of scholars, and the im- 
proved methods of teaching. 

II ( (I Persons who attend the institute will be at no expense except for 
their own boarding. Several gentlemen have tendered their services and 
will deliver lectures on topics connected with education at the proper 
times in the session. We again solicit the attendance of those who de- 
sire to teach in this county, and also extend a cordial invitation to the 
friends of education in this and other counties to be present. 

'" "S. McElhose, 
••' ' " Comity Supcrinte^ident. 

" ' " Brookville, Septemlier 22, 1856.'' 

"'This institute was opened with prayer by Professor Smith. The 
work consisted largely of daily class drills, conducted by Professor Smith 
and Superintendent McElhose. Professor Smith was an educated gentle- 
man, and died in Brookville a few years ago, after serving two terms as 
county superintendent most acceptably. 

" ' The evening lectures before this first institute were free, delivered 
in the Presbyterian church by local talent. They were by Rev. Thomas 
Graham, on "The Duties of Teachers;" A. L. Gordon, Esq., on " Self- 
Knowledge," and I. G. Gordon, Es(|., on " Discipline." All these even- 

615 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ing entertainments were announced to be held at "candle-lighting." 
Day lectures were given before the institute by Sui)erintendent McKlhose, 
Professor Smith, on astronomy, and Dr. Cummins, on physiology. Nu- 
merous essays were read by the teachers present, on the beauties of nature, 
on education, on teaching, etc. Of the forty-two teachers who attended, 
I can recall but these: A. H. Krown, A. L. Clordon, J. C. Wilson, 
AVilliam Monks, T. Evans, John H. McKee, A. J. Monks, R. A. Travis, 
J. Kelso, Misses Maggie Polk, Jennie Craig, M. Kinnear, Abbie Mc- 
Curdy, Martha Dennison, Emma Bishop, Mary McCormick, H. Thomas, 
Martha McCreight, and Messrs. C. M. Matson, David Dickey, and S. A. 
McAllister. The last three named are present with us to-day. 

" ' Extended discussion was had, and resolutions were passed, in regard 
to the construction of school-houses and concerning school furniture and 
school-books. The county then had one hundred and five school-houses 
and sixty-eight male and fifty female teachers. 

" ' Samuel McElhose served as superintendent a part of a term by ap- 
pointment and two full terms by election, at a yearly salary of five hun- 
dred dollars. He was an educated and po]:)ular gentleman, a great 
worker, and the first in the county to agitate institutes. He held many 
of these, — sometimes three or four in a year, — some lasting three or four 
weeks. He was a good citizen and a patriot, and died a private soldier 
in the army in 1863. 

" ' Ninety-two years ago, in the winter of 1S04, John Dixon, father of 
the venerable John Dixon, of Polk township, taught the first school in 
this county. It was a subscription school, and the term was three 
months. The "school-house" was two miles east of Brookville, on what 
is now the McConnell farm. It was twelve feet wide and sixteen feet 
long, was built of rough logs, and had no window-sash or glass. The 
light was admitted to the school-room through chinks in the walls, over 
which greased paper was plastered. The lloor was of " puncheons," and 
the seats of broad pieces split from logs, with pins underneath for legs. 
The roof was covered with " clapboards" held down by poles. Boards 
laid on pins driven into auger-holes in the walls furnished writing-desks. 
A log fireplace, occupying an entire end of the room, supplied warmth 
when the weather was cold. 

" 'The second school was taught by John Johnson, in 1806, on the 
old " State road," near the present residence of William C. Evans, be- 
tween Port Barnett and Brookville. The house was similar to the first 
one named, with the exception of a single window of six lights of eight- 
by-ten glass. This school cabin was heated by a ten-plate wood-stove, 
the invention of Franklin in 1800, and called by the people "The 
Little Devil." This was a subscription school also, and was known in 
those days as a "neighborhood," to distinguish it from the "family" 
school. Tlie building was erected by those interested. The tools used 

616 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

in constructing it were a pole-axe and an auger. The master was hired 
by a committee of three, elected by the people at their own time and in 
their own way. This committee supervised the school. Children had 
to travel three or four miles, in some cases over trails and paths where the 
Indian lurked and the wild beast prowled. 

" ' Although Penn had declared in founding his colony that "wisdom 
and virtue must be carefully propagated by a virtuous education of the 
youth," and although the constitution of 1790 declared in favor of the 
establishment of schools throughout the State that the poor might be 
taught gratis, yet it was not until 1809 that the Legislature attempted to 
obey this mandate. Colleges and academies were, it is true, sparsely 
inaugurated, but they were not for the poor. Education was carried on 
by voluntary effort. The law of 1809 simply provided that it should be 
the duty of the county commissioners and assessors of the townships to 
ascertain from the parents the names of all the children between the ages 
of five and twelve years who reside in each township, and whose parents 
were unable to pay for their schooling. These children then had the 
privilege of attending the nearest subscription school, under the restric- 
tions of the committee, and the county had to pay for each pauper 
scholar by the month, the same as the subscribers paid. This law was in 
existence for twenty-five years. It was despised by the poor and hated 
by the rich. The poor would not accept it because it declared them 
paupers. Its existence, however, kept up an agitation for a better system, 
which culminated, in 1S34-36, in what is known as the common school 
law. 

" ' In 1S33, (rovernor Wolf ascertained by careful inquiry that under 
this law of 1809, O'-'t of fou'' hundred thousand children in the State be- 
tween the ages of five and twelve years, only twenty thousand attended 
any school whatever. 

" 'The pioneer school-house in the southern part of the county was 
built of logs, in the fall of 1820, near John Bell's, a little more than a 
mile northeast of Ferrysville. It was built after the fashion of the first 
school-house in the county, — lighted, warmed, and furnished in the same 
manner. John B. Henderson taught the first school in this pioneer house 
in the winter of 1S20. 

" ' Our oldest school-master in the county is Joseph Magififin, hale and 
hearty at the age of ninety. He taught near Dowlingville in 1827. The 
books used in the pioneer schools were generally the Bible, Columbian 
Reader, Murray's Grammar, Pike's Arithmetic, Catechism, United 
States Speller, and New England Primer. As a matter of care and 
economy these books were covered by the mothers with paper or cloth, 
generally calico or bed-ticking. The pioneer school-masters were nearly 
all Irishmen, and, as a rule, well-educated. In the winter they usually 
wore a red flannel warmus, and sometimes white flannel pants. They 
40 617 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

taught their scholars from the proverbs of the poets, from the maxims of 
the surrounding forests, and from the tenets of the blessed Bible, whose 
apocalypse is love. Is it any wonder, then, that the log cabin and log 
school house proved to be the birthplace and nursery of mental giants, 
of men who have blessed our country as rulers, statesmen, soldiers, 
scholars, orators, and patriots ? What nation, old or new, has produced 
the equal of our Washington? What nation has equalled our Jefferson, 
with his declaration " that all men are created free and equal" ? A\'hat 
nation has equalled our Lincoln, born and reared in a cabin, one of the 
people and for the people ? With a heart alive to pity, like an angel of 
mercy, he was ever at home in his office of President to the most humble 
citizen. This I know by personal experience. What nation has pro- 
duced the superior of Chief Justice Marshall ? What orators have been 
more eloquent than Clay or Webster? What nation has produced a 
greater than our military chieftain, Grant, who commanded larger armies, 
fought more battles, and won more victories than any other general his- 
tory records? Napoleon's career is pigmy-like when compared to (irant's 
successes. What nation has equalled our inventors? Fulton, born in 
Pennsylvania's woods, who harnessed steam to water-craft; Whitney, 
who invented the cotton-gin ; Morse, who sought out the telegraph ; 
McCormick, who made the reaper; Howe, who made the sewing-ma 
chine, and Edison, the intellectual wonder and marvel of the world, — 
born in Ohio and reared in the woods of Michigan ? Such a mental 
genius as he is could only be the son of an American " school-marm." 

" ' 1 have not time to recapitulate the history of our country and its 
achievements. I can only say that what we are to-day we owe to the log 
cabin, the log school house, and the pioneer school-master. 

" ' We live in the age of steam and railroads, telegraphs, telephones, 
and of a free school system. " We live in an age on ages telling ; to be 
living is sublime." Yet you are pioneers, pioneers of a new era, an era 
of moral courage, of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man ; 
an era of honesty, of temperance, of plenty, of virtue, of wisdom, and 
of peace. And you, teachers, are the leaders in this grand new era. 
As such we welcome you to IJrookville. We welcome you most heartily 
as friends and neighbors. We welcome you as citizens of our county, 
whose hills and valleys are sacred to us. We welcome you as the chil- 
dren of noble, courageous, patient, toiling pioneer heroes and heroines, 
who subdued the savage and the wild beasts of the forest and reclaimed 
these lands. We welcome you as teachers under the free school system 
of the great State of Pennsylvania, made great by her forests, her fertile 
valleys, her mountains of coal, rivers of oil, and the enterprise of her 
sons and daughters, and whose free school system is the continued as- 
surance of American liberty. We welcome you as teachers in an empire 
whose State insignia proclaims to the world Mrtue, Liberty, and Inde- 

6i8 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

pendence. We welcome each one of you to Brookville for your indi- 
vidual worth, and we welcome you as an aggregation of intelligent force 
assembled in our midst for the public good. Finally, we welcome you 
as teachers convened to learn more thoroughly how to impart intelli- 
gence, teach virtue, wisdom, and patriotism under our flag, the emblem 
of all that is dear to man and woman in and for the best government on 
the face of the earth.' " 

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN JEFFERSON 
COUNTY— THE PIONEERS AND FATHERS. 

On February 22, 1856, a number of self-appointed delegates from all 
parts of the republic, — 

Men of principle, 
" Men who had opinions and a will, 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who lived above the fog, 
In public duty and in private thought," — 

met at Lafayette Hall, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and organized the 
National Republican party, the first national convention of which was 
held that year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was then in exist- 
ence two other parties, — viz., the Democratic and the American Na- 
tional. This gave the country in the Presidential race of that year 
three candidates for the Presidency, — viz., Buchanan, Democrat, Fill- 
more, American, and Fremont, Republican. The Democrats were suc- 
cessful and Buchanan was elected. The Republicans were next strongest, 
and the Americans third in the race. In 1856 the Republicans in our 
county had more votes than the Americans, yet they had no organization. 
In 1857 the Republicans of Jefferson coalesced with the Americans and 
swallowed them by organizing a party in the county as the American 
Republican. The pioneer primaries for this organization to choose dele- 
gates were held on the last Saturday of June, at each election precinct, 
between the hours of two and six p.m. The county convention was held 
in the court-house at Brookville on the first Tuesday of July following. 
Each township or borough was to elect two delegates, except Heath and 
Polk, and they but one each. 

There were then twenty townships and two boroughs in the county, 
and at the county convention, held July 7, 1857, the following delegates 
were present, — viz. : 

Beaver. — (t. Montgomery, R. Dinger. 

Barneff/^ — Not represented. 

Bell. — John (Irube, James Miller. 

Brookville.— \. B. McLain, I). C. Gillespie. 

Clover. — C. McCullough. 

Eldred.—^'xWxzxw Hall, J. B. Graham, 

619 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Heath. — Not represented. 

Knox/^ — M. E. Steiner, William Davidson. 

Mi-Calmont.—]. P. North, S. McGhee. 

Oliver.—]. P. McKee, W. P. Gastin. 

Porter. — Jacob Howard. 

Polk."^ — Not represented. 

Perry.--— C R. B. Morris. 

Pine Or^X'.='=— Oliver Brady, J. P. Black. 

Rose.'-'"- — E. P. Cochran, T. Witherow. 

Ringgold. — R. T. Perry, J. A. Frees. 

Snyder.'^ — Not represented. 

Funxsutawney.'^ — J. R. Reese, W. A. Uunlap. 

Union."^ — John S. Barr, John Gibson. 

Washington.'^''- — John Crawford, Robert Morrison. 

JVarsaw.^^ — I. M. Temple, Emory Bartlett. 

JVins/ow.^ — G. Burrows, R. Ross. 

Yot/ng. — S. B. Hughes, Thomas North. 

The nominees of that convention were : Sheriff, Lawrence McQuown ; 
Prothonotary, etc., Joseph Henderson; Treasurer, Samuel Craig; Com- 
missioner, John North ; Auditor, John Thompson. The townships 
marked thus * were carried for the Republicans in 1857, therefore the 
pioneer Republican townships in the county. 

The election on the second Tuesday of October went Democratic, 
both State and county. Our county was carried by the Democrats by 
majorities ranging from six to one hundred. 

The campaigns then were educational, and conducted by oratory 
in school houses, etc. The pioneer "stumpers" in the county for the 
Republican party were I. G. Gordon, B. F. Lucas, A. A. McKnight, 
A. P. Heichhold, A. B. McLain, D. C. Gillespie, W. W. Wise, L. 
D. Rogers, Dr. W. J. McKnight, and J. K. Coxson. All evening 
meetings were announced to be held at "early candle-lighting." In 
stumping the speaker gave his own time and furnished his own transpor- 
tation. If too poor to do this, some Republican would convey him in a 
hack, free of charge, or a number of workers would chip in and hire a 
team and go along. There was no campaign boodle to draw upon. \Xt 
always had a begging committee ; A. B. McLain was always on it, and 
the best beggar I ever knew. When we imported a " foreign speaker," 
McLain had to hustle to get money for the speaker's expenses, and he 
never failed. We had a county vigilance committee of one or two in 
each township. This committee was appointed at the county convention 
by the presiding officer, and was usually selected from the delegates 
present. 

State delegates were selected as follows: An editorial notice was pub- 
lished in the Star that a meeting would be held at the court-house in 

620 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Brookville on the evening of , at "early candle-light," to appoint 

a delegate to the State Convention. The crowd that gathered elected 
him viva voce. 



EARLY HISTORY OF RIDGWAY — SOME SKETCHES ABOUT THE 
TOWN AND YICINITY FROM 1852 TO 1856.* 

In the fall of 1S52 I made my pioneer trip as a mail-boy on the 
"Star Route" from Brookville to Ridgway, Pennsylvania. In 1S52 
this was still a horseback service of once a week, and was to be performed 
weekly, as follows: Leave Brookville Tuesday at five o'clock a.m., and 
arrive at Ridgway same day at seven o'clock p.m. Leave Ridgway 
Wednesday at five o'clock a.m., and arrive same day at Brookville at 
seven o'clock p.m. 

The proprietor of the route was John (t. Wilson, then keeping the 
American Hotel in Brookville. To start the service on schedule time 
was easy enough, but to reach the destined point in the schedule time was 
almost impossible. The mail was usually from one to three hours late. 
Indeed, it could not be otherwise, for the route was through a wilder- 
ness, over horrid roads, and about seven miles longer than the direct 
road between the points. 

It was too much work in too short a time for one horse to carry a 
heavy mail-bag and a boy. On my first trip I left Brookville at five a.m., 
James Corbett, the postmaster, placing the bag on the horse for me. I 
rode direct to Richardsville, where William R. Richards, the pioneer of 
that section, was postmaster. From Richardsville I went to Warsaw, 
where Moses B. St. John was postmaster. He lived on the Keyes farm, 
near the Warsaw graveyard. From St. John's I rode by way of what is 
now John Fox's to the Beechwoods McConnell farm, or Alvan post- 
office, Alex. McConnell, postmaster. From Alvan I went direct to what 
is now Brockwayville for dinner. Dr. A. M. Clarke was postmaster, and 
it was at his house I ate, to my disgust, salt-rising bread. 

The doctor and his father lived in a large frame house near where the 
old grist-mill now stands. The old up and- down saw-mill across the 
creek was then in operation. C. K. Huhn, I think, lived near it. The 
old frame school-house stood on a prominence near the junction of the 
Brookville and Beechwoods roads. Henry Dull, one of the pioneer 
stage drivers in Jefferson County, lived in an old frame building near 
where D. D. (rroves now resides, and John McLaughlin lived in an old 
log house down by the Rochester depot. 

With these exceptions, all west of the creek in what is now Brock- 
wayville was a wilderness. East of the creek the bottom land was 

* This " Early History of Ridgway" was published in pamphlet form, and is re- 
published here, revised and corrected. 

621 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

cleared, and along the road on each side was a log fence. W. D. 
Murray and the Ingalls family lived near the Pennsylvania depot. 

There was no other family or store or industry, to my recollection, 
in what is now the beautiful town of Brockwayville. 

About five miles up the Little Toby, and in Elk County, Mrs. Sarah 
Oyster kept a licensed hotel, the only licensed tavern in that year out- 
side of or between Brookville and Ridgway. Near this hotel Stephen 
Oyster lived and had erected a grist-mill and saw- mill. Oyster was 
postmaster, and the office was named Hellen Mills. 

Stephen Oyster's house and mills were alongside or on the pioneer 
road to this region. The road was surveyed and opened about 1812, 
and over it the pioneers came to Brandy Camp, Kersey, and Little Toby. 
The history of the road is something like this : Fox, Norris & Co. owned 
about one hundred and forty thousand acres of land in this vicinity, and, 
being desirous to open these lands for settlement, employed and sent a 
surveyor by the name of Kersey to survey, open a road, and build a mill 
on their lands. 

Kersey and his men started the road on the Susquehanna River near 
Luthersburg, on the old State road, crossed over Boone's Mountain, 
reached Little Toby at what is now Hellen, went up the creek seven 
miles over what is called " Hog-Back Hill" to a point on Elk Creek near 
where Centreville now is, and then located and built " Kersey Mill." 

Kersey had an outfit and a number of men, and erected shanties 
wherever necessary while at his work. One of these he built on Brandy 
Camp. Among other necessaries. Kersey had some choice brandy with 
him. The men longed for some of this brandy, but Kersey kept it for 
himself. One day, in the absence of Kersey, the cabin burned down. 

On Kersey's return he was chagrined, but the men told him that the 
Indians in the neighborhood had drunk his brandy and burned the 
shanty. This story had to be accepted, and hence the stream has ever 
since been called Brandy Camp. "The Travellers' Home Hotel" was 
on this stream. It was famous for dancing parties, blackberry pies, and 
sweet cake, but was closed this year and occupied as a private residence 
by a man named Brown. 

Night came upon me at the farm of Joel Taylor, and through nine 
miles of wilderness and darkness I rode on a walk. There was a shanty 
at Bootjack occupied by a man named McC^uone. From Taylor's to 
Ridgway was a long ride to me. It was a wearisome time. 

I reached Ridgway, a small village then, about nine o'clock p.m. John 
Cobb was postmaster, and the office was in his store, near where Powell's 
store is now. My horse knew the route perfectly, and I left all details 
to her. 

Two hotels existed in the village, — the PLxchangc, kept by David 
Thayer, near the river, and the Cobb House, kept by John Cobb, on 

622 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the ground where Messenger's drug-store now is. Mr. P. T. Brooks was 
in charge that night. My horse stopped at the Cobb. For some reason 
the house was unusually full that night, and after supper I expressed to 
the landlord a doubt about a bed. 

Mr. Brooks patted me on the back and said, " Never mind, my son, 
I'll take care of you, I'll take care of you." Bless his big heart, he did. 
Boy-like, my eyes and ears were open. I took in the town before leaving 
it. The only pavement was in front of the Ciillis house, I knew of the 
judge's reputation as a Morgan killer, and I wanted to see where and 
how he lived. I had seen him in Brookville many a time before 
that. 

There was a board fence around the public square. Charles Mead 
was sheriff, and lived in the jail. The village had a doctor, one Chambers. 
The school-teacher was W. C. Niver, afterwards Dr. Niver, of Brockway- 
ville, Pennsylvania. 

Of the village inhabitants then, I can recall these: Judge Gillis, E. 
C. Derby, M. L. Ross, Henry Souther, Caleb Dill, James Love, J. C. 
Chapin, Lebbeus Luther, a hunter and great marksman ; Lafe Brigham, 
'Squire Parsons, E. E. Crandall, Charles McVean, Judge Dickinson, J. S. 
Hyde, and Jerome Powell, editor of the Advocate. 

I have an old issue of the Advocate of that date, from which I copy 
two advertisements, one of the coal industry of the county then, and the 
other on stage and transportation facilities : 

"(;reat excitement in the coal regions! 

^^ Removal of the Deposits from the Miners^ Bank of Fox Township .' 

" Providence having in days of yore deposited in the above bank a 
choice supply of coal for the use of mankind, to be drawn as need re- 
quires, the proprietor is now engaged in removing the funds from bank 
to his office adjoining, where he will always be ready to distribute liber- 
ally, at a trifling charge for his services, to those who call, whether \'ul- 
cans, people, or common folks. 

"Jessie Kvler. 

" Ol-KICE OF THE MlNERS' BaNK OF FoX ToWNSHIP, 

November 13, 1S51." 

" NEW arrangement. 

" Thro//xh and Back by Daylight .' 

" Having taken the contract for carrying the mail from Bellefonte to 
Smethport, the subscriber is happy to announce to the travelling public 
and the world in general that he is going to ' crack her threw' regularly, 
rain or shine, hot or cold, mud or dust, from this time forth, leaving 
Smethport every Monday morning, arriving at Ridgway same evening, 

623 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

passing along so as to reach Bellefonte on Wednesday night. On the 
return trip leaves Ikllefonte on Thursday morning, arrives at Ridgway 
Friday night, and Smethport Saturday night. 

" J8@°" Good horses and coaches and sober drivers will always be 
kept on this route. 

" fi@" Particular attention will be paid to baggage, which will be 

carried at my risk where freight is paid. Also, all kinds of errands 

promptly attended to along the line. Patronage is respectfully solicited. 

" TowNSEND Fall. 
" Centrevili-e, July 9, 1S52." 

I lived in Ridgway and worked on the Advocate, and afterwards in 
the Reporter office from August, 1854, to September, 1856. Ridgway 
was then but a village, containing three stores, — J. S. Hyde's, George 
Dickinson's, and Hall & Whitney's; two hotels, the Exchange and the 
Ridgway, nee Fountain, nee Oyster, 7jee Cobb. One grist-mill and a 
little saw-mill on Elk Creek ; one shoe shop. Parson & Crandall ; one 
gunsmith, Horace Warner; one blacksmith, Caleb Dill; one tailor, M. 
L. Ross. Lawyers, Souther, Willis, Chapin, Mickel, and Pattison. 

The town was too small and healthy for a physician to remain. There 
was a school-house near the residence of Caleb Dill, and the winter term 
of 1854-55 was taught by C. M. Matson, of Brookville, Pennsylvania; 
also a court-house and a stone jail. AVilHam N. Whitney was postmaster. 
The town and township contained about eighty-one voters. 

The county officers were : President Judge, R. (t. White, of Tioga 
County; Associate Judges, George Dickinson, of Ridgway, and W. P. 
Wilcox, of lones township; Prothonotary, etc., Charles Horton ; Treas- 
urer, Jerome Powell; Sheriff, Alvan H. Head. The commissioners I do 
not remember. 

The following lawyers, afterwards distinguished, then attended the 
courts: P>rown, Curtis, and Johnson, of Warren; Barrett, Wallace, Mc- 
Cullough, and Larimer, of Clearfield ; J. G. Gordon, W. P. Jenks, Mc- 
Cahon, and Lucas, of Jefferson ; and (Goodrich and Eldred, of McKean. 
The merchants hauled their goods from Watterson's Ferry, on the 
Allegheny River, or Olean, New York. Minor Wilcox drove on the 
road with Charles B. Gillis, Ben. McClelland, and others. In 1855-56 
there was one colored teamster in Ridgway, — viz., Charles Matthews. 
He had a wife, and drove for Sheriff Healy. Although the town water 
was as pure as the snow on the mountain, yet it did not agree with 
Charles's stomach. Like other teamsters, he had to take "something a 
little warmer and stronger." 

There was no church edifice of any kind in the town, and but few 
church members. Sheriff Mead tried to run a Sunday-school, with a few 
scholars. The pioneer Sunday-school was organized by the Rev. R. L. 

624 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Blackmarr, x^pril 14, 1850, The circuit riders of the Methodist church 
that year were Revs. Shaffer and Colburn. They preached in the court- 
house, and service was held once in two or four weeks, I cannot recall 
which. The elder's name was Poisdell. All of these gentlemen were 
appointed by the Baltimore Conference. 

These ministers always travelled on horseback. The horse was 
usually "bobbed," and you could see that he had a most excellent 
skeleton. These itinerants all wore leggings, and carried on the saddle a 
large pair of saddle-bags, which contained a clean shirt, a Bible, and a 
hymn-book. The sermon was on a cylinder in the head of the preacher, 
and was ready to be graphophoned at any point or time. 

Rev. John Wray was the first Presbyterian minister to regularly " cry 
aloud" to the people of Ridgway, " Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven 
is at hand. Come buy wine and milk without money and without 
price." During my two years' stay he preached regularly once in four 
or six weeks. He may have had a few female members in his church, 
but to my observation the people generally preferred the "world, the 
flesh, and the devil," whiskey and New England rum. 

Rev. Wray was the pastor of the Beechwoods church in Jefferson 
County, and came to Ridgway as a missionary. His first advent was in 
1850. He had been a missionary in India for seven years. He was a 
pleasant, earnest, good Irishman, and always stopped with Mr. Luther. 
He was small of stature, and rode astride his horse and saddle-bags as 
stiff and upright as though he were a keg of nails. He died at Brock- 
wayville in August, 1883, aged eighty-nine years. 

J. S Hyde was then a young, active business man. He came to 
Ridgway "as poor as a church mouse," and died, at a ripe old age, a 
millionaire. He was ambitious, an untiring worker, and an honorable 
citizen. In 1855 he twice solicited me to enter his service ; I was flattered, 
but refused, and told him that "a doctor I would be." Mr. Hyde had 
great force and a habit of carrying his hands in front of him with the 
" thumbs up," especially if he was in earnest or excited. Whenever his 
thumbs were up in the presence of any one, there was sure to be some- 
thing happen, — an explosion of Christian imagination. 

Elk County then was one vast wilderness, and was so called on ac- 
count of the great herds of elks that once roamed through those wilds. 
There were no elks killed during my residence, but (Irandpap Luther 
told me that in 1852 a drove of twelve or fifteen was found by two 
hunters near the village, and seven of them were killed. Indians camped 
near Ridgway as late as 1850 to hunt for elks. Elks are gregarious. 
Where Portland now is was a great rendezvous for the elks. It was a 
great wintering-place for them. All other wild animals were numerous. 
Erasmus Morey told me that in March, 1853, he and Peter Smith killed 
in one week six full-grown panthers. 

625 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The total bounty paid by the county in i8:;4 for killing wolves and 
panthers in 1853 was $225.50. There lived on the Smethport pike, be- 
tween Ridgway and Montmorenci, two hunters with their families, — 
viz., Bill Easton and Nelse Gardner, the latter the father of James K. 
Gardner, who now resides in Ridgway. 

These men were professionals. Chasing the wild deer was their daily 
life and delight. They both possessed in a high degree the agile, cat-like 
step, the keen eye, the cool nerve, and the woodcraft of the " still hunter." 

I knew them well, but was not intimate enough to learn the story of 
their encounters and adventures. The buffaloes that once roamed in 
great numbers, the beavers that built their dams, and the stately elks 
that once traversed the forests of Elk are now extinct, and I believe the 
screaming panther and the prowling wolf can now, too, be so classed. 

The pioneers to settle where Ridgway now is were James Gallagher 
and Enos Gillis. About 1824 they built two log houses and a saw-mill. 
Gallagher was the pioneer tanner, and built a tannery there in the early 
thirties. He died February 22, 1850, aged seventy years. James L. 
Gillis christened the village Ridgway. I came to Ridgway in 1854 by 
invitation of Jerome Powell, Esq., to work for him on the Advocate. I 
received eight dollars per month and boarding. I made my home with 
Lebbeus Luther. His wife was a most excellent cook, tidy, kind, and 
as neat in her housework as a pink. 

About the first of August, 1854, I left Brockwayville for Ridgway. 
This was the stage era for Ridgway, and I took passage in Murray & 
Thayer's stage. My fare was one dollar. 

The Advocate was a five column to the page paper, each column about 
eighteen inches long. The press was an old Franklin. We made our own 
rollers out of glue and molasses. The work on the paper was all done 
by Mr. Powell, Ben. Dill, and myself. The composing, press-work, and 
sanctum were all in one room. The paper was in its fifth volume. No. 
I, vol. i., was issued March 9, 1850. Henry Souther was editor for 
about one year. Mr. Powell was the pioneer publisher and father of the 
craft in Elk County. 

Some of the happiest days of my life I spent in this old court-house 
office. True, I was poor and ragged, but I had the confidence of my 
employer, I was free from cares, and there in that old office in winter's 
snows and summer's heat, " Happy hearts, happy hearts, with mine have 
laughed in glee, the charms of which time can never efface." 

Mr. Powell was a polite, afiable, genial employer, and Hen. Dill was a 
pleasant associate. 

In August, 1854, the supervisors let a job to take the great stumps out 
of and straighten Main Street. The stumps were removed, and the 
spring water was brought to the public grounds. An eagle was shot 
that year near Ridgway that weighed twenty-four pounds. 

626 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Elk County then had in the navy of the United States a passed mid- 
shipman, — viz., J- Henry Gillis, — who, by his bravery and long service, 
is now a commodore in Uncle Sam's " navee." 

James L. Gillis, who lived in Ridgway, was a man of State celebrity. 
He was absent nearly all the time, lobbying at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 
or at Washington. He was a very interesting man to talk with. I used 
to go over to his house, when he was at home, to be entertained in an 
evening. 

In 1S54 the bridge across Big Toby Creek, now called the Clarion 
River, was destroyed. William Crawford had the contract for that year 
and built a new one. 

In looking over old copies of the Advocate I used to read advertise- 
ments something like this : 

" Hunters. — Several young fawns are wanted, for which a liberal 
price will be given. Enquire at this office." 

In some of the old papers published before 1S54, Caleb Dill, of Ridg- 
way, advertised for elk, something like this : " For a living male elk one 
year old I will give S50 ; two years old, $75 ; three years old, $100 ; and 
for a calf three months old, S25." Elk were easily tamed. 

In 1854 the principal part of Elk County was covered with white 
pine and hemlock. Fine-lands could be bought from three to five dol- 
lars an acre. Hemlock had no value only for farm lands. The bark 
even was not used for tanning. Pine was about the only timber manu- 
factured. Tall, straight "pine in lofty pride leaned gloomily on every 
hill-side." 

The streams were alive with pike, sunfish, bass, chubs, magnificent 
trout, and other fish. Every fall and spring hunters with dogs and 
fishermen from the adjoining counties and from across the line in New 
York State would flock to these hills, valleys, and streams for recreation 
or profit. The principal owners of all this wild land in 1854 lived in 
Philadelphia, — viz., Ridgway estate, Jones estate, Parker estate, and 
Fox and Norris estate. 

I said in a former article that 1854 was the beginning of Ridgway's 
stage era. Prior to that time isolated attempts had been made in the 
establishment of lines, but all the efforts in that direction, with the excep- 
tion of the Smethport or Townsend Fall's line were failures. I copy an 
editorial from the Advocate of June 10, 1854, giving a resume of the stage 
in operation at that time : 

" Staging. — As an evidence of the rapid increase of the business of 
this county and of its general prosperity, it is not necessary to refer to 
every branch of business that is conducted here, but a reference to the 
single item of staging will make it clear to all that we are arising nation. 

627 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Two years ago there was no mode of communication through these 
interminable forests except that only true republican way, a * foot- 
back,' and wading through the mud up to your knees, at least, into the 
bargain. 

"About that time the pioneer stager of the county, Townsend Fall, 
coroner of Elk County and landlord in McKean County, commenced 
running a one-horse mud-boat from Bellefonte to Smethport. That was 
considered a great enterprise, and everybody predicted that Fall must get 
lost in the mud, and his hazardous undertaking would certainly be the 
ruination of that visionary man. These predictions would probably 
all have been verified had it not been for the fact that Mr. Fall is one of 
those live Yankees who is always ready to whittle out a wooden nutmeg 
while waiting for his horse to gain wind when stuck in the mnd. 

"He added another branch of trade to his staging which served to 
make up the losses that caused him, and assisted him in keeping body, 
soul, horse, and mud-boat together. He procured a quantity of steel- 
traps suitable for bears, wolves, and such animals, which he stationed 
along at intervals, and while waiting for his old horse to browse he could 
examine them and take care of their contents without losing any time. 
The furs, skins, and scalps he thus procured soon enabled him to pur- 
chase another horse and put by the side of the old veteran that had long 
served him so faithfully. 

" From that day his prosperity and the prosperity of the stage in- 
terests of this region have been rapidly onward. He soon was enabled 
to get a wagon with a top to it. The first trip was a proud day for Elk 
County. Now Mr. Fall is running a tri- weekly line of splendid four- 
horse coaches between Smethport and Ridgway, for particulars of which 
see advertisement in this paper. 

"There is also a weekly line running regularly between here and 
Bellefonte, and a semi-weekly line between here and Brookville, in 
connection, by Murray eS; Thayer, as will be seen by their advertisement 
in this paper. And with all these stage facilities, we receive no mails 
oftener than once a week. Where is Uncle Sam with his daily mails ?" 

In the stage advertisements of that year each i)roprietor advertised 
"sober drivers," otherwise the passenger would never have dreamed that 
the driver was in a sober condition. The proprietor occasionally drove 
over the route himself. I do not recall any of the drivers except Jim 
Clark, of the Brookville line. 

One of the pioneers of Ridgway was David Thayer. He was an all- 
round business man, hotel-keeper, lumberman, and stage man. He was 
the father of a large family. Henry S. Thayer, living in Ridgway, is his 
son. He was the proprietor of the pioneer line of stages to ^\'arren and 
Brockwayville, Pennsylvania. 

62S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The following advertisements published at that time speak for them- 
selves : 

"another stage line. 

" David Thayer announces to the travelling public that he has taken 
the contract for carrying the mail between Ridgwayand Brookville. He 
has put on a line of stages, and will run regularly between these two 
points named. Leaving Brookville every Tuesday morning, and leaving 
Ridgway every Wednesday morning. 

" Brookville, January 4, 1S54." 

"semi-weekly line to brookville. 

" The undersigned have commenced running a line of stages between 
Brookville and Ridgway. AVill leave Brookville Tuesday and Friday 
mornings, arrive at Ridgway same evenings. Will leave Ridgway Wednes- 
day and Saturday mornings, and arrive at Brookville same evenings. This 
is a permanent arrangement, and may be relied upon. This line connects 
at Brookville with daily lines east, south, and west ; and at Ridgway 
with semi-weekly and weekly lines north and northeast. Good coaches, 
fast horses, and sober drivers will always be kept on this line. 

" Murray & Thayer. 

"June 7, 1854." 

David Thayer had opened a stage line in 1853 through the wilderness 
to Warren. It failed, but was revived, and a livery stable opened in 
connection with it in 1S54, as you will see in this advertisement. 

" stage line revived. 

" The undersigned, having taken the contract for carrying the mail 
between Ridgway and Warren, will commence running a stage on Satur- 
day, July 8, and will continue to run it regularly hereafter, going out on 
Saturdays and back on Sundays as heretofore. This line may be de- 
pended on, as it will go through every time without fail. Good horses 
and coaches and sober drivers will always be kept on the route. 

"Joseph Grandprey. 

Wm. Corley. 
" Ridgway, June 30, 1S54. 

" N. B. — We will also keep on hand Horses and Carriages, so that 
persons travelling thro' here, and others, can at all times be carried to 
any point to which they may wish to go. 

"G. .^' C." 

This line failed also, and the old horseback method had to be resorted 
to. There were too many panthers, bears, wolves, etc., on the route and 
too few people. 

629 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" THREE TIMES A WEEK. 

"Fall has commenced running his stages three times a week be- 
tween Ridgway and Smethport. He will leave Smethport every Monday, 
Wednesday, and Friday morning, and leave Ridgway every Tuesday, 
Thursday, and Saturday. 

" June lo, 1854."' 

In 1S54, Ridgway by stage was "forty miles from anywhere," forty 
miles from Brookville, forty miles from Warren, and forty miles from 
Smethport. The pioneer coaches were neither rockaways nor palaces. 
They were the most ordinary hacks, and the horses could be " seen 
through," whether sick or well, without the aid of any X-rays. 

The roads in spring, summer, and fall were a succession of mud-holes, 
with an occasional corduroy. Don't mention bad roads now. The male 
passengers usually walked up the hills. 

In the year 1855 a man by the name of Nicholas Collins, from the 
Centreville region, had a contract to repaint the court-house. The 
court-house was a frame, and was painted white. The board fence 
around the square was white, too. He boarded with Mr. Luther, and, 
with true Christian patience, he and William Lahey painted on the out- 
side of the building one entire Sunday. 

However, the stores were open, the shops, too, and some men were 
shooting at mark. Our State motto then was, "Virtue, Liberty, and 
Independence," and evidently the latter part of the motto was lived up 
to in Ridgway. 

In 1855 the county consisted of eight townships, — viz., Benezette, 
Benzinger, Fox, Gibson, Jay, Jones, Ridgway, and Spring Creek, con- 
taining a voting population of seven hundred and sixty-five. Lumbering 
was the principal industry. 

In 1784, the year in which Pittsburg was surveyed into building lots, 
the privilege of mining coal in the " great seam" opposite the town was 
sold by the Penns, at the rate of thirty pounds for each mining lot, ex- 
tending back to the centre of the hill. This event may be regarded as 
forming the beginning of the coal-trade of Pittsburg. The supply of the 
towns and cities on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with Pittsburg coal 
became an established business at an early day in the present century or 
in 1800. Pittsburg coal was known long before the town became noted 
as an iron centre. 

Down to 1S45 all the coal shipped westward from Pittsburg was floated 
down the Ohio in flat-bottomed boats, in the spring and fall freshets, each 
boat holding about fifteen thousand bushels of coal. The boats were 
usually lashed in i)airs, and were sold and broken up when their destina- 
tion was reached. In 1845 steam-towboats were introduced, which took 
coal -barges down the river and brought them back empty. 

630 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The mills in and around Ridgway were the Eagle Valley mill, con- 
ducted by Isaac Horton, Jr. ; the Elk Creek mill, owned by J. S. Hyde : 
the Mill Creek mill, owned by Yale & Healey ; and the Dickinson 
mill. In 1855 there were still some remnants of the old boat scaffold 
at the " Red Mill." 

This mill was erected by Judge Dickinson, and painted red. The 
boarding-house was also red. The boat scaffold was erected in the 
spring of 1844. The work was done by "Brush" Baxter for John S. 
Barr and William McMahill. These men built eleven boats that sum- 
mer, each twenty feet wide and a hundred feet long. Lumber was car- 
ried to market in them for one dollar per thousand, and fifteen thousand 
feet was a load. In Pittsburg, Barr and McMahill sold their boats for 
one hundred dollars each. 

Common hands on the river received one dollar per day and board ; 
pilots, two and three dollars per day and board. Lebbeus Luther kept 
the Red Mill boarding-house in 1843-44. Then the " head" sawyer on 
the Red Mill received twenty-five dollars per month and board ; the 
assistant, eighteen dollars a month and board ; and common hands, 
fifteen dollars a month and board. 

Mr. John S. Barr, who is still living, informs me that the usual re- 
ligious exercises on Sunday at the Red Mill in 1844 were wrestling, fish- 
ing, pitching quoits, shooting at mark, running foot-races, and "jumping 
by the double rule of three." 

The Bear Creek mill was run by Alvan H. Head, and the Beech Bot- 
tom mill by Cobb ^: Ruloffson. The logging was conducted with cattle. 
Cobb & Ruloffson had that year an advertisement in the paper for hands 
to drive oxen. The diet at these old mills was bread, potatoes, beans, 
flitch, and molasses, brown sugar, old-tasted butter, coffee and tea with- 
out cream, and, for dessert, dried apple-sauce or pie. Labor was cheap. 
Pine boards of the finest quality sold in Louisville, Kentucky, at seven 
and nine dollars per thousand. If the operator cleared twenty-five or 
fifty cents on a thousand feet he was thankful. 

AMiat pilots and hands on the river received, I cannot recall. All 
goods and groceries were dear ; they had to be hauled from Olean, New 
York, or ^Vatterson Ferry, on the Allegheny River. Money was scarce, 
the people social and kind. Whiskey and New England rum were three 
cents a drink. The landlords, being generally hard up, were always a 
little short, but managed to get a fresh supply of whiskey for court 
week, — I suppose for the judges. 

In 1855 the township ofticers were : 

Assessor. — Horace Warner. 

Assistant Assessors. — M. L. Ross, D. S. Luther. 

School Directors. — H. A. Pattison and H. Souther for three years 
each, and Isaiah Cobb for two years. 

6.V 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Supervisors. — P. T. Brooks and Harvey Henry. 

Auditor. — H. A. Pattison. 

Justice of the Peace. — Matthew L. Ross. 

///^Y of Election.— CdAeh Dill. 

Inspectors of Election.— Vl. A. Parsons, R. Maginnis. 

Overseers of the Poor. — Horace J. Thayer, Charles McVean. 

Town Clerk.— U.. L. Ross. 

Constable.—.^. H. Head. 

In this year the first Protestant church was commenced in the county. 
All I know about that is this : One day a large, fine- looking, well-dressed 
man came into the office and requested Mr. Powell to subscribe some- 
thing for a church. Mr. Powell was poor, and demurred. The man per- 
sisted, but Mr. Powell further objected, whereupon the stranger became 
indignant, and vehemently declared, "It is a God damn shame there 
isn't a Protestant church in the county, and I'll be God damned if I 
stop till there is one!" At the end of this Christian exhortation Mr. 
Powell subscribed five dollars. The scene was so dramatic and ridiculous, 
I inquired who the stranger was, and Mr. Powell told me he was Alfred 
Pearsall, from Jay township. I understood afterwards Mr. Pearsall suc- 
ceeded and erected his church, called Mount Zion Methodist Church. 

FOURTH OF JULY IN RIDGWAY IN 1854.* 

" As usual, the Fourth was a happy day in Ridgway, on Tuesday last. 
The old baby-waker proclaimed about eleven o'clock the night previ- 
ously that the Fourth was coming, but it did not actually arrive till about 
twelve o'clock, when it caught some of us napping. The 'wind-fall' 
boys say the Fourth arrived there about eleven o'clock; but we don't 
believe it, for it generally gets here about as quick as anywhere else. 

" When it had become light enough to see, and the smoke from the 
thousand battle-fields of the Revolution had cleared away, the patriotic 
old Fourth was seen, sweating and foaming with heat, smoking with the 
fire.s of '76, and roaring like a lion, seeking a Britisher whom he might 
devour. General Frank Dill had charge of the flying artillery, and 
Clark, the judge, and Hank controlled the small arms, such as fire- 
crackers and torpedoes, making in all an effective force, which, under 
charge of Field Marshal Maginnis, might well spread panic and confusion 
among the enemies of the ' glorious Fourth.' 

" Soon after daylight the people from the surrounding country began 
to flock in, and long before noon the streets were thronged with an in- 
telligent and happy people. At eleven o'clock the citizens assembled at 
the court-house, where the exercises were as follows : Hon. James L. 
Gillis was chosen president of the day. The chaplain, Charles Mead, 



By Jerome Powell. 
632 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

Esq., offered up a fervent prayer to the throne of grace. The audience 
were for a few moments highly entertained by a few patriotic songs by 
the choir. The Declaration of Independence was then read by William 
B. Gillis. Albert Willis, Esq., was then introduced as the orator of the 
day, who entertained the audience with a highly instructive and interest- 
ing address, which was listened to with marked attention by all present. 

"After the oration Avas concluded, Henry Souther, Esq., was called 
upon, who made a few remarks. 

" H. A. Pattison, Esq., and others also were called upon, and enter- 
tained the audience with interesting, pointed, and appropriate speeches. 

"After the performance at the court-house was closed, a procession 
was formed, under the direction of Major Maginnis, marshal of the day, 
and marched to the Bowery prepared by Joseph Cr rand prey, Esq., pro- 
prietor of the Exchange, where a dinner was served up that did honor to 
Mr. Grandprey and his excellent lady, and to which the company did 
ample justice. The table fairly groaned under the weight of good things 
that were spread before the hungry multitude. 

"After the removal of the cloth, the following regular toasts, which 
had been previously prepared by the committee, were announced by the 
president of the day : 

"REGULAR TOASTS. 

" I. The day we celebrate: a day around which will cluster sacred 
memories, while liberty has a resting-place in a single human heart. 
(Three cheers and three guns.) 

"2. George Washington. (Drunk standing and in silence.) 

" 3. The signers of the Declaration of Independence : men who had 
the heart to desire, the mind to conceive, and the nerve to execute. 
Their memory will ever be cherished. 

" 4. The heroes of '76 : they will soon all be in heaven. 

"5. The Star-Spangled Banner: may it continue to wave until its 
ample folds encircle the world. 

" 6. The Constitution and the Union : the Gibraltar of strength and 
national glory. 

"7. The President of the United States : President of the whole 
Union. 

"8. The governor of Pennsylvania: a Pennsylvanian all over. 

" 9. The citizen soldiery : the right arm of our nation's defence. 

" (Major Maginnis, being called upon, responded to this toast, in a 
few appropriate and timely remarks.) 

"10. The ladies : ' God bless them.' 

" II. The orator of the day : may he live to a good old age, and in 
the evening of his days may the fires of patriotism burn in his bosom as 
brightly as now in the morning of his life. 
41 ^33 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" (Mr. Willis returned his thanks to the audience in a very neat and 
appropriate manner.) 

" 12. The reader of the Declaration : may he ever be guided by the 
immortal principles set forth in the Declaration he has read to us to-day. 

"13. Mine host : we seldom meet with as good fare. 

"The toasts were received with cheers and guns. The aged seemed 
to have their youth renewed by memories of the past, the young were 
fired with the spirit of '76. All seemed to enter into the spirit of the 
day and the occasion. Even the old gun, which has stood the test of 
' five hundred Fourths of July,' felt as young as on the day it came from 
its maker's hands, and spoke in eloquent tones of the times that tried 
men's souls, until patriotism got so thick throughout this whole valley 
that it could hardly be cut with a two-edged sword. 

"A number of volunteer toasts were then announced, only a part of 
which we can now remember. The following were among them : 

" By William K. Gillis. The Elk Advocate and its editor. The Elk 
being called upon, responded in ' his usual happy style.' 

"By a young lady. The gentlemen: may the ladies bless them. 
(Cheers and guns.) 

" There was no response to this, but it is hoped they will all respond 
by giving the ladies a chance to — ' bless them.' 

"Judge Gillis was toasted by some one, and responded only as he 
can respond to a Fourth of July sentiment. Each returning ' Fourth' 
finds the judge ' at home' and on hand with any quantity of patriotic 
speeches. He is worth a whole regiment of ordinary men at a Fourth of 
July celebration. 

"By H. A. Pattison. Thomas Jefferson : the author of liberal prin- 
ciples, as embodied in the Constitution and government of the United 
States. (Cheers and guns.) 

"By a lady. The young gentlemen of Ridgvvay : may they be 
blessed with good wives and fat babies. (A ' fat baby' eloquently 
responded.) 

"By J. Powell. The Fourth of July: may it be celebrated five 
hundred million years from now by a free and happy people. 

"The president announced five hundred million cheers and a like 
number of guns for this toast. 

" Pjy a guest. The gunner : may rejoicings always attend his labors. 
(The gun responded in a very elo([uent sj^eech.) 

"There were many other volunteer toasts offered, which were lost to 
our reporter, and we are consequently compelled to omit them. 

"After the toasts were concluded, those who enjoy sucli recreations 
adjourned to the ball-room of the Exchange, where, we are told, they 
had a very hai)py time. It is suspected that they 'ran all night.' 

*' The day was pleasant, and the celebration, from beginning to end, 

634 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

passed off in an unexceptional manner. The celebration was a sober 
one, no intoxicating liquors being used. 

"The fireworks, under the direction of Captain Souther, went off 
admirably." 

In 1854, Dr. C. R. Earley lived at Kersey. The year he came to Elk 
I do not know. He was energetic, kind, and industrious. He had to 
keep himself busy, and for some time he and Jesse Kyler, rival pioneers, 
were the baron soft coal kings of the county. The following is Earley's 
card as it appeared in the Advocate : 

'• IMPORTANT FROM THE MINES. 

" Having recently commenced operations at the new ' placer' in the 
' San Francisco' coal-mine, the subscriber wishes to inform the public 
that he is prepared to furnish those wishing it an article of coal far supe- 
rior to any ever before offered in Elk County at his mines in Fox town- 
ship. He would also say that he has a lime-kiln in full blast at the 
mines aforesaid, and will keep constantly on hand a superior article of 
lime. All of which will be sold on reasonable terms. 

"C. R. Earley. 
"San Francisco, February S, 1S51." 

The following is Kyler's announcement as it appeared in the Advo- 
cate. He was the pioneer dealer. 

' ' COAL. 

"The subscriber, thankful for the very liberal patronage he has 
hitherto and is still receiving, takes this opportunity to inform his friends 
and the public generally that he still continues the mining and sale of 
coal at his old establishment, being the centre of the coal basin, and 
the identical bed recently opened in another place. He is unwilling 
to admit inferiority, nor is he bombastic enough to claim superiority, 
where neither one nor the other can possibly exist. In respect to the 
quality of coal, it is true, by removing the dirt from the top of the out- 
crop coal may be got in larger chunks and will seem to burn more free, 
because the air circulates through it better. But he that buys a bushel of 
coal by measure, mixed fine and coarse together, gets more for the same 
money in mining under. However, no section of the country has an 
advantage over another, and but little can be obtained without. He 
will therefore furnish coal as usual in quality and price, and abide the 
judgment of a discerning public. 

" Jesse Kyler. 

"Fox, Feliruary 10, 1851." 

In 1S54 there lived in Ridgway one Major Robert Maginnis. He was 
full of military enthusiasm, and through his exertion a military company 

635 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

was organized in August, — viz., the Elk County Guards. Captain, R. 
Maginnis ; first lieutenant, Harvey Henry ; second lieutenant, William 
N. Whitney ; ensign, J. F. Dill. I think its life was of short duration, if 
it ever mustered. Maginnis, failing in war, bought a few medical books 
from Dr. Farwell, and left town in the spring of 1855 to practise the 
healing or killing art somewhere in the West. 

The result of the election on the second Tuesday in October, 1854, 
resulted in the choice of the following county officers : Prothonotary, 
Charles McVean ; Commissioner, Wm. A. Bly ; Auditor, W. N. Whitney. 

In the winter of 1854-55, — 

" There was snow, snow everywhere. 
On the ground and in the air, 
On the streets and in the lane, 
On the roof and window-pane." 

It snowed every day for thirty days, — 

" Until over the highways. 
And over the byways 
The snowdrifts were ever so high." 

The supervisors had to shovel turnouts along the public roads so that 
teams could pass. 

In December, Mr. Powell wrote an editorial on the weather, a part of 
which I reproduce : 

" Yes, winter is here. The season for the hunter to don his white cap 
and shirt and, properly armed and equipi)ed, hie to the woods away, 
intent on depriving the innocent denizens of the forest of ' life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness.' Our hunters are now reaping their har- 
vest. The ' tracking snow' never was better, and it is too early in the 
season for the rascally York State hunters to molest the deer or make 
them afraid. Crack ! crack I goes the rifle, and at every flash down 
comes an antlered monarch, which is soon ' hung up,' and off goes the 
hunter in search of another. Fine sport to the hunter, but death to the 
deer. So goes the world, — the weaker must ever fall a victim to the 
rapacity of the stronger. In vulgar parlance, the ' big fish always eat 
the little ones.' 

" In this country winter is the season. As we are seated in our sanc- 
tum, made comfortable and cheerful by the glowing heat of McCready's 
black diamonds, listening to the wind as it whistles through the old 
court hall and moans dismally for admission, and as the space between 
the brick fire-proofs is turned into an eddy of snow-flakes, the feathery 
rafts floating about in such beautiful confusion that it is impossible to tell 
whether the current runs up-stream or down, we are almost inclined to 
become poetical, but will endeavor to keep cool. We once read some 

636 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

poetry written by a love-sick swain, upon seeing a snow-flake fall upon 
the bosom of his lady-love. It seemed by his description that a snow- 
flake couldn't begin to compare with ' that whiter skin of hers than snow, 
and smooth as monumental alabaster,' yet it had the temerity to place its 
charms in competition with the lady's, with the most disastrous result, for 
the snow-flake had no sooner laid itself upon the more than snowy breast 
than it saw that its own charms were suffering by the comparison, when, 
'grieved to see itself surpassed, melted into a tear.' Served the snow- 
flake right. It had no business there. Another chap, less poetical and 
more practical, perpetrated a similar one upon his ' gal' and snow-flakes. 
He said the snow kept falling upon her bosom and melting, ' until at last, 
at last, oh, dear, her shirt was wet as water !' " 

One of the modes of Mike Long and other pioneer hunters on the 
Clarion River was to ride a horse with a cow-bell on through the woods 
over the deer-paths. The deer were used to cow-bells and would allow 
the horse to come in full view. While the deer was looking at the horse 
the hunter usually shot one or two. I don't know whether Daniel Da- 
vison, of Portland, ever practised this or not. 

In November the following-named physician located in Ridgway, and 
published his card in the Advocate : 

" DR. S. S. FARWELL, 

" Having changed his residence from Second Fork to Ridgway, ten- 
ders his professional services to the citizens of the town and vicinity. 
Office in the Oyster House, where he can be found at all times, unless 
professionally absent. 

"November 13, 1S54." 

The doctor was a good-looking little man ; he stuttered and stam- 
mered and received no encouragement from the people. He had a good 
medical library. There were but few people sick, and nearly everybody 
employed either Dr. Earley, Dr. A. M. Clarke, or Dr. W. C. Niver. In 
January, 1855, Dr. Farwell brought into the office this poem. It was 
given to me to " set up." Here it is : 

" SAY NOT MV HEART IS COLD. 
" BY DR. S. S. FARWELL. 

" Say not my heart is cold, 

Because of a silent tongue ; 
The lute of faultless mould 
In silence oft hath hung. 
The fountain soonest spent 

Doth babble down the steep ; 
But the stream that ever went 
Is silent, strong, and deep. 
637 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The charm of a secret life 

Is given to choicest things; 
Of flowers, the fragrance rite 

Is wafted on viewless wings. 
We see not the charmed air 

Beating some witching sound ; 
And ocean deep is where 

The pearl of pi ice is found. 

" Where are the stars by day ? 

They burn, though all unseen, 
And love of purest ray 

Is like the stars, I ween. 
Unmarked is the gentle light, 

When the sunshnie of joy appears ; 
But even in sorrow's night 

'Twill glitter upon thy tears." 

A few weeks after notifying the people in this poetry that he had a 
warm heart the doctor left for parts to nie unknown. 

In 1854 or 1856, Elk County had no medical society, but they had an 
adopted fee-bill, which I here reproduce : 



" TO ALL CONCERNED. 

"We, the undersigned, physicians of the county of Elk, would re- 
spectfully announce the following as our lowest fee-bill, — to wit : 

1. Call and medicine near residence, or medicine in office , . . ^ .50 

2. At night 1. 00 

3. Visit in country one mile 1.00 

4. Each subsequent mile under 12 25 

5. Visit of 12 miles 503 

6. do. 20 miles 10.00 

7. do. at night, fifty per cent, to be added to the ordinary charge 

al)ove. 

8. All necessary medicine to be included in the above. 

9. Consultation witii additional mileage (as above) 5.00 

10. Obstetrics, natural labor (with additional mileage) 5 00 

11. Instrumental, or by turning 7.00 

12. Cupping in office i.oo 

13. Vaccination (including after attendance) . i.oo 

14. Reducing fractures and dislocation of the femur (wiih mileage 

as above) 10.00 

15. All other fractures and dislocations 5.00 

16. Amputation of inferior extremities 40.00 

17. Amputation of superior extremities 30.00 

18. Operation for strabismus 25.00 

19. Strangulated hernia 30.00 

20. Hydrocele 10.00 

21. Single hairlip 2000 

22. Doui)le do 30.00 

63S 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, FENNA. 

23. Paracentesis alodominis $10.00 

24. Excising enlarged tonsils ... 10. 00 

All necessary after attendance, surgical and obstetrical cases, 

to be charged for at the usual rates. 

25. Examination of persons for certificates to exempt from mili- 

tary duty 1. 00 

"C. R.Earley. 
A. B. Pulling. 
Lewis I doings. 
"May, 1851." G. Bachmann. 

Dr. Fuller, a root and herb doctor, lived in Jones township, and in 
1855 came to Ridgway, boarded at the hotel, and practised medicine. 
His panacea for every ill was lobeha and capsicum. He was there, I 
think, when I left in 1S56. He "called" for the cotillon parties, and 
was himself a fiddler. Jim Harm and Frank Dill composed the orchestra 
for all dancing parties. Dr. Fuller was a genial, pleasant old gentleman, 
and if his remedies were not compounded with the highest skill or pre- 
scribed accurately, his intentions were good. 

Like a great many men of that time, he never permitted himself to 
get too dry. I have only kind words for him. 

" Let us speak of a man as we find him, 

And heed not what others may say, 
And if a man is to blame let us remind him 

That fri3m faults there are none of us free. 
If the veil from the heart could be torn, 

And the mind could be read on the brow, 
There are many we've passed by in scorn 

We would load with high honors now." 

In January, 1855, I carried the mail one trip on horseback to Warren 
from Ridgway. A man by the name of Lewis was the proprietor, and 
he boarded at I>uther's. I performed this service free, as I was anxious 
to see Warren. 

I had to start from Ridgway on Friday night at nine p.m., ride to 
Montmorenci, and stop all night. A family by the name of Burrows 
lived there. I stopped on Saturday in Highland for dinner with Town- 
ley's. There were living in that township then Wells, EUithorpe, Camp- 
bell, and Townley. I arrived in Warren Saturday after dark, and stayed 
over night at the Carter House. I returned on Sunday from Warren to 
Ridgway, and, the weather being intensely cold, " I paid too dear for 
my whistle." 

In 1855-56, Ben. McClelland, then a young man, was driving team 
for Sheriff Healey. In the wdnter he was sent to Warren with two horses 
and a sled. On his way home he expected to stop over night at High- 
land. Before Ben. reached "Panther Hollow" — a few miles north of 
Townley's — it became tpiite dark. 

639 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

At the hollow Ben.'s horses snorted, frightened, and ran. In the 
dark Ben. quickly recognized the form of a panther after him. The 
horses had the beaten track, the panther the deep snow alongside, and 
afraid to attack the heels of the horses on account of the sled, the horses 
crazy and furious. 

It was a neck-to-neck race for Highland. The panther never gave up 
the race until the cleared land was reached. Ben. was a hunter, but was 
unarmed and almost dead from fright. When Townley's farm was reached 
the horses were all in a lather of sweat and nearly exhausted. A posse 
of hunters started in the early morning, and found the big brute near the 
hollow and killed him. 

This was Ben.'s ride, not Sheridan's. Had Ben. been on a horse he 
would never have seen Highland. 

Lebbeus Luther, with whom I boarded, was a great old joker. He 
was president of the school board in 1854. I spent many an hour hear- 
ing his reminiscences. He migrated in 1820 to Clearfield County from 
Massachusetts and settled in what is now Luthersburg. Luthersburg 
took its name from him. 

In what year he moved to Ridgway I cannot exactly recall. He was 
appointed postmaster in 1855, and lived where P. T. Brooks now re- 
sides. Lebbeus Luther, Sr., kept a hotel while in Luthersburg, and was an 
active proprietor. In addition to his jovial good qualities, he was a great 
marksman. Bill Long, the king hunter of Jefferson County, visited this 
hotel frequently for pure air and when he had a dryness in his throat. 
On these occasions he used to try his hand with (irandpap Luther shoot- 
ing at target. Luther's coolness always counted. 

D. S. Luther, a son, and Jim Harm, a grandson of 'Squire Luther, 
were hunters, killing wolves and a great many deer. Jim lived with his 
grandparents, and used to furnish us venisbn. 

In 1854, William B. Gillis was elected county superintendent. He 
was the pioneer. Pennsylvania in school matters was behind New York 
and some of the Western States, and in that year adopted the county 
superintendent idea from these States. The foreign population of the 
State was bitterly opposed to this change, to this advance. The law of 
1854 also required orthography, reading, writing, English grammer, 
geography, and arithmetic to be taught in every district. The State 
superintendent also recommended the adoption of uniformity in books. 

The law of 1854 was a dreadful blow to the old log school-house, 
with its poor light, high boards around the walls for writing-desks, un- 
qualified and incompetent teachers, short terms, and diversity of books. 
The appropriation from the State to the township in that year was forty- 
two dollars and eighty-four cents. 

W. C. Niver taught the summer and winter terms of 1850, '51, '52, '53. 
Miss Statira llrown, now Chapin, a summer term in 1853. A Mr. Buck- 

640 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

ley, from New York State, a winter term in 1853-54. C. M. Matson, 
from Brookville, a winter term in 1854-55. S. J. Willis, from New York 
State, summer and winter term in 1855-56. I give below a roll of the 
scholars who attended the summer term of the Ridgway school, com- 
mencing May 6, 1850, W. C. Niver, teacher. 

Males. — James Harm, Barrett Cobb, Roland Cobb, John Ross, George 
F. Dickinson, Benezette Dill, Robert Gillis, Ezra Dickinson, George W. 
Connor, Patrick Cline, Calvin Luther, Claudius Gillis, Joseph Fost, 
Franklin Dill, Bosanquet Gillis. 

Females. — Esther J. Thayer, Augusta Gillis, Clarissa D. Thayer, 
Mary E. Thayer, Mary Weaver, Sarah Ann Thayer, Albina E. Thayer, 
Ellen C. Gillis, Lovina Harm, Angeline Wilcox, Clementine Harm, 
Phoebe M. Wilcox, Anna E. Connor, Sarah Weaver, Alzinah Weaver, 
Semiramis Brown, Louisa V. Brooks, Mary M. Meddock, Ann Eliza 
Goff, Ardissa Wilcox, Elizabeth Luce, Martha Dill, Amanda Mead, 
Elizabeth Winslow, Laura Cook, Emily Cook. 

The winter term commenced October 14, 1850, under W. C. Niver, 
teacher, and had on the roll, in addition to the above enumerated 
scholars, the names of, — 

Males. — George Ellithorpe, Henry Thayer, W. P. Luce, Edward 
Derby, Melville Gardiner, J. P. Pearce, J. W. Pearce. 

Fe))iales. — Malonia Ely, Statira Brown, Christina Gray, Eliza A. 
Hyde, Caroline Pearsall, Rosamund Jackson, Margaret Mohen, Emily 
Clark, Elizabeth Wescott, Maria Cobb, Emeline King. 

W^illiam B. Gillis resigned the superintendency in the winter of 1855. 
His salary was three hundred dollars. Dr. C. R. Earley, of Kersey, was 
appointed to the position. His salary was four hundred dollars a year. 
The doctor made an efficient superintendent. He held the pioneer 
county institute in the court-house in June, 1856. I reproduce the full 
p-oceedings of that institute, as taken from an issue of the Reporter of 
June 22, 1856 : 

''teachers' institute. 
'' First Day. 

"Monday, June 2, 1856, pursuant to previous call, the Elk County 
Teachers' Institute met at the Academy at three o'clock p.m., and organ- 
ized by appointing the following persons as permanent officers during 
the session : Dr. C. R. Earley, president; S. J. ^^'illis and Miss Olive J. 
Brown, vice presidents ; and H. A. Pattison, secretary. 

"On motion, the chair appointed the following business committee : 
E. F. Taylor, S. S. Buckley, Miss Mary Warner, Mrs. E. S. Thurston, 
and H. A. Pattison, who are to report the business of each day every 
morning. 

641 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

"On motion, the following gentlemen were appointed a committee 
on resolutions: Albert \Villis, H. Souther, H. A. Pattison, J. L. Brown, 
and E. F. Taylor, who are to report at the close of the session. 

" On motion, it was resolved that the institute hold its sessions in the 
court-house. 

" On motion, adjourned, to meet tomorrow morning, June 3, in the 
court-house. 

" The second day was occupied with exercises in the several branches 
taught in the common schools, conducted by Dr. William C. Niver, of 
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. D. F. Brown, Esq., of Brooklyn, New 
York, delivered a very interesting and instructive lecture on penmanship. 

"Third day's proceedings same as above, with a lecture on alpha- 
betical characters, by H. A. Pattison. 

" The sessions of the institute were occupied in reviewing the branches 
taught in the common schools, each teacher giving his or her method of 
teaching. The evening sessions were devoted exclusively to penman- 
ship, under D. F. Brown, Esq. 

' ' Second Week. 

"Monday, June 9. The usual exercises omitted, for discussion on 
the best method of school government. 

"On Tuesday morning, F. A. Allen, county superintendent of Mc- 
Kean County, made his appearance in the institute. Mr. Allen, by re- 
quest, took charge of the exercises, and gave instructions of the most 
interesting character in the several branches under review. 

"The exercises in penmanship closed on Tuesday evening. On 
Wednesday the usual exercises were conducted by Mr. Allen and Dr. 
Niver. 

" Daring the evening session Mr. Allen delivered a very interesting 
lecture on the subject of education generally. 

"The exercises of Thursday were conducted by Mr. Allen and 
Samuel Earley, Esq. 

"The evening session was devoted to instruction on mathematical 
geography, by Mr. Allen. 

" Friday was devoted to the usual exercises, accompanied by remarks 
on the general character of institutes, by Mr. Allen. After some remarks 
by Dr. Earley, A. Willis, and H. A. Pattison, A. Willis, chairman of the 
Committee on Resolutions, made, on behalf of the committee, the fol- 
lowing report : 

" ' Whkrkas, \Ve regard a system of common school education as one 
of paramount importance, lying at the foundation of all truly free and 
enlightened governments, and especially the chief, if not the only, safe- 
guard of our own, whose very existence depends upon the virtue and 
intelligence of its citizens ; therefore, 

642 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

^^ ^ Resolved, That we regard the present law creating the county 
superintendent as giving a new impetus to the cause of education, and 
look upon its continuance as essential to the efficiency and well-being of 
the common school system. 

" ' Resolved, That we recognize in our worthy county superintendent, 
Dr. C. R. Earley, an efficient and zealous laborer in the educational field, 
and that we look with feelings of pride upon the changes that are now 
taking place in our county with regard to our common schools through 
his labors, and that we most cordially invite the co-operation of all 
friends of the people's college — the common schools — to aid him in the 
good work begun. 

'■^ ^ Resolved, That we, as members of the institute, hereby express 
our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Allen, the able county superintendent of 
McKean County, Dr. William C. Niver, and Samuel Earley, who, by 
their disinterested and most valuable services, have made the exercises of 
the institute interesting and instructive. 

'■^ ^ Resolved, That we as an institute will most heartily co-operate 
with organizations of a similar character throughout the State in advancing 
the interests of education by the common school system. 

'^ ^ Resolved, That teaching should be considered a profession equal 
in importance with that of any other, and that the compensation ought 
to correspond with that importance. 

" ' Resolved, That the teacher while teaching ought not to study any 
other profession than that of teaching. 

'' ^Resolved, That females ought to receive equal compensation with 
the males for equal services rendered. 

" ' Resolved, That we recommend to our State Legislature to grant a 
State appropriation, for the purpose of sustaining a County Teachers' 
Institute in each and every county in the Commonwealth. 

" ^Resolved, That we recommend to our County Superintendent the 
propriety of calling another institute as soon as he may think prac- 
ticable. 

" ' Resolved, That a synopsis of the proceedings of this institute be 
published in the Elk Reporter, McKean Citizen, and the Pennsylvania 
School Journal. 

" ' On motion, the institute adjourned sine die. 

" ' C. R. Earlev, 

President. 
H. A. Pattison, 

Secretary. 

'" RincAVAY, June 13, 1S56." 

Colonel Corbett, who clerked for (iillis in 1S45, informs me that the 
court-house was built in the summer of that year. The contractors were 

643 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEP^FERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

General Levi G. Clover and Edward H. Derby. The supplies for the 
men were furnished through the store of James L. Gillis. S. M. Burson 
was the first lawyer to locate in Ridgway. In 1S54 the court crier was 
M. L. Ross. On public occasions he wore a blue broadcloth swallow- 
tailed coat, with brass buttons in front. "This coat had pocket-holes 
behind for 30 years or more." The commissioners were E. C. Schultze, 
C. F. Luce, L. Luther. 

John C. McAllister, Esq., of Brandy Camp, was clerk to the com- 
missioners in 1855. He would walk over and back home, and take his 
meals while in Ridgway with Mr. Luther. The 'squire was a red-hot 
Democrat then. In looking over the records of Jefferson County I find 
that Enos Gillis, of Ridgway township, was assessed first in 1830 with 
one grist-mill and one tannery, and James Gallagher was assessed with 
an occupation tax of tanner. This tannery was on Elk Creek, nearly 
opposite Powell's store. 

Gallagher tanned with both hemlock and oak bark, and made a dif- 
ference in the price of his leather of six cents per pound between cash 
and trade. He ground bark in a mill made on a large scale, something 
like an old-fashioned coffee-mill. 

I venture the assertion that W. H. Osterhout, with all his experience 
and ability, could not to-day run this pioneer tannery successfully. Sole 
leather sold per pound for about thirty cents. Gallagher kept the pioneer 
hotel. He never had license. His wife would not permit him to have 
liquor about the house. A\'hiskey or its odor always made ]\f r. Gallagher 
very sleepy. 

Powell sold the Advocate to J. L. Brown, of Jones township, I think 
about September, 1855. Mr. Brown was a promising poor young man, 
but knew nothing about the "art preservative." He changed the name 
of the paper to Reporter, and continued the terms about as they had 
been. He and 1 ran the paper; he was the editor, of course. During 
the ten or eleven months that Mr. Brown published the Reporter he lived 
in a little frame house on the rear of a lot along an alley near the resi- 
dence of W. C. Healey. The house was set on blocks. It was well ven- 
tilated, for it was neither painted, weather-boarded, lined, nor plastered. 
Mr. Brown had been newly married, and commenced house-keeping here. 
1 boarded with him. Notwithstanding the little deficiencies mentioned, 
we enjoyed ourselves. It was home, and "be it ever so humble, there is 
no place like home." 

Mr. Brown liad two brothers, AV. W. and I. 15. Brown. W. W. lived 
in Ridgway that year awhile and clerked in a store. I. B. used to come 
down on a visit, and then the three Browns and myself would all be 
seated at a "sumptuous repast" within those "palace walls." Who 
owned the shanty I do not know. Strange to say, these three Browns 
and myself were all in public life at the same time. \\e met in Harris- 

644 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

burg in 1881, W. W. as a Congressman, J. L. as Elk's representative, 
I. B. as an Erie County representative, and myself as a State senator. 
The three Brown boys deserve great credit. They had a superior 
mother. 

Mr. Brown, having tired of newspaper life, advertised the plant for 
sale, and a Methodist minister from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rev. 
J. A. Boyle, came out into the wilderness and bought the Reporter. He 
had a wife, five boys, — Richard, jNIelville, Olin, Samuel, and Harlow, 
the latter born in December, 1856, in the Brown "palace" which I have 
just described, — and two daughters, — Harriet and Jennie. I boarded 
with him. He lived later near the Gillis house. Two of his boys 
worked on the paper with me. I remained in his employ until about the 
last of September, 1856. 

Mr. Boyle was a man of intellectual power and an eloquent orator, 
but in rather feeble health. He changed his residence and occupation 
for the mountain air and rest. When the Rebellion broke out Mr. Boyle 
enlisted, was commissioned a captain, and was killed at Wauhatchie, 
Tennessee, October 29, 1863, having been promoted to major of the One 
Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers. Elk County lost in 
him a good citizen, an able man, and the country a brave soldier. His 
wife was one of the dearest motherly women I ever met. After the 
major's death the family returned to Philadelphia. 

In the issue of September 27, 1856, a week after I left Ridgway, Mr. 
Boyle paid me this compliment in the Reporter : 

" MR. W. J. m' KNIGHT. 

" This young gentleman, who has been at work in the Reporter office 
for some time past, has just left us. It is seldom we meet a young man 
who seems to us to have in view the great object of life, but when we do 
our heart rejoices and our hopes for humanity and the world are enlarged. 
Self-culture is our highest duty. To produce a harmony between the 
intellectual and moral of our nature, and have both striving for the 
highest development, is the true road to usefulness and respectability. 
Mr. McKnight has resolved to devote himself to a useful profession, and 
to do this he has determined to lay a foundation of thorough training. 
Self-reliant, with a good constitution and a well-developed intellect, he 
is about to commence a regular course of medical lectures. He has suf- 
ficient enthusiasm to impel him forward in the arduous toil required to 
master the science, and we trust he has too high an ambition to stop at 
any of the restingqjlaces of Quackery, but will push forward until he 
reaches the highest pinnacle in the temple of J^sculapius. 

" One of the grandest sights presented in this working world of ours 
is to see a young man, unaided by wealth, pushing his way through un- 

645 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

toward circumstances to a useful position in society and an honorable 
post. Go forward, Mac, and may the blessing of a thousand hearts 
cheer you in your labors !" 

THE TOWNSHIP OF RIDGWAY. 

Ridgway township was originally formed as a part of Jefferson County 
in 1826, and remained there until 1S43, when it was taken from that 
county by the following act of Assembly to create the county of 
Elk: 

"An Act erecting parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean 
Counties into a Separate County, to 1!E called Elk. 

" Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is 
hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That all those parts of the 
counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean lying between the follow- 
ing boundaries, — viz. : Beginning at the northeast corner of Jefferson 
County ; thence due east about nine miles to the northeast corner of lot 
number two thousand three hundred and twenty-eight : thence due south 
to Clearfield County ; thence east along said line to the east line of Gib- 
son township ; and thence south so far that a westwardly line to the 
mouth of Mead's Run shall pass within not less than fifteen miles of the 
town of Clearfield ; and thence westwardly to Little Toby's Creek, along 
said line to the mouth of Mead's Run ; thence in a northwesterly direc- 
tion to wliere the west line of Ridgway township crosses the Clarion 
River ; thence so far in the same direction to a point from whence a due 
north line will strike the southwest corner of McKean County; thence 
along said line to the southwest corner of McKean County ; and thence 
east along the south line of McKean County to the place of beginning, 
be and the same is hereby erected into a separate county, to be hence- 
forth called Elk. 

"Section 2. That Timothy Ives, Jr., of Potter County, James W, 
Guthrie, of Clarion County, and Zachariah H. Eddy, of Warren County, 
are hereby appointed commissioners, who, or any two of whom, shall 
ascertain and plainly mark the boundary lines of said county of Elk ; and 
it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to receive proposals, make 
purchase, or accept donation land in the eligible situations for a seat of 
justice in the said county of Elk, by grant, bargain, or otherwise, all such 
assurances for payment of money and grants of land that may be offered 
to them, or their survivors, in trust for the use and benefit of the said 
county of Elk; and to lay out, sell, and convey such part thereof, either 
in town lots or otherwise, as to them, or a majority of them, shall appear 

646 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

advantageous and proper, and to apply the proceeds thereof in aid of the 
county : Provided, That before the commissioners aforesaid shall proceed 
to perform the duties enjoined on them by this act, they shall take an 
oath or affirmation before some judge or justice of the peace, well and 
truly and with fidelity to perform said duties according to the true intent 
and meaning of this act : Proinded also, That as soon as the county com- 
missioners are elected and qualified, the duties enjoined on the said com- 
missioners shall cease and determine, and shall be performed by the 
county commissioners so chosen and elected. 

"Section io. That it shall be lawful for the commissioners of the 
county of Elk, who shall be elected at the annual election in one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty-three, to take assurances to them and their 
successors in office of such lot or lots, or piece of ground as shall have 
been approved of by the trustees appointed as aforesaid, or a majority of 
them, for the purpose of erecting thereon a court-house, jail, and offices 
for the safe-keeping of the records. 

"Section ii. That the judges of the Supreme Court shall have like 
powers, jurisdictions, and authorities within the said county of Elk as by 
law they are vested with, and entitled to have and exercise in other 
counties of this State : and said county is hereby annexed to the western 
district of the Supreme Court. 

" Section 12. The county of Elk shall be annexed to and compose 
part of the eighteenth judicial district of this Commonwealth ; and the 
courts in the said county of Elk shall be held on the third Monday of 
February, May, September, and December in each and every year, and 
continue one week at each term, if necessary. 

" Approved — the eighteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred 
and forty- three." 

POST-OFFICES AND POST-ROADS. 

From 1854 to 1S56 there was a continual agitation over railroads, 
frequent public meetings, addresses made, and resolutions passed. These 
three were the most favored : the Allegheny Valley, the Pittsburg and 
Rochester, and the Sunbury and Erie. 

All State elections were then held on the second Tuesday of ( )ctober 
each year. The city papers always published the result in full, with this 
note, "Potter, McKean, Elk, Forest, and Jefferson to hear from." 

The bridge over the Clarion up to 1854 was a toll- bridge. The 
pioneer jewelry-store, etc., was started west of the bridge by Ed. Gillis, 
April 23, 1853. The pioneer dentist to visit Ridgway was Dr. A. Blake, 
of Albion, New York, in May, 1853. 

The pioneer tin and hardware store was opened by George Cxillis in 
June, 1853. The pioneer millinery-store was opened by Caroline Gillis 
in 1856. 

647 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA< 

It was a custom in 1854 to send to the printer with the wedding- 
notice a piece of the bride's cake or a gold dollar. 

Rattlesnakes were occasionally killed on the streets as late as 1854. 
A paper of June, 1853, said in an issue that " this is a great country for 
timber. A man over on the Sinnemahoning has got a tract of land con- 
taining two acres, on which there is timber enough to make twenty-five 
canoes, forty timber rafts, fifty spars, forty thousand rattlesnakes, and 
one hundred thousand porcupines." 

H. S. Jaquish was the pioneer daguerrian artist, who visited the town 
in 1850. 

The names of post-offices and the postmasters supplied on the route 
from Warren to Ridgvvay in the year 1855, and the name of the con- 
tractor for such service, were as follows : 

Warren. — C. Hasten and S. J. Goodrich. 

Mead. — Jonathan Mott. 

West Sheffield.— ]. P. Blanchard. 

Sh effield. — John Gilson . 

New Highland. — Charles Stubbs. 

Ridgzaay. — William N. Whitney. 

The contractor was David Thayer, of Ridgway, and his compensa- 
tion was at the rate of one hundred and ninety-seven dollars and fifty 
cents per annum. 

THE COUNTY SEAT FIGHT. 

" At a meeting of the citizens of Elk County, held at the court-house 
in Ridgway on the 20th day of January, 1849, fo'^ the purpose of taking 
into consideration the best means to prevent the removal of the county 
seat of said county from Ridgway to St. Mary's, as the question was about 
being agitated in the State Legislature, Hon. ( leorge Dickinson was called 
to the chair, Joseph S. Hyde and James Gallagher, Estjs., were chosen 
vice-presidents, and Henry Souther and Caleb S. Dill, Esqs., secretaries. 

" On motion, a committee of six were appointed to draft and report 
resolutions to the meeting, who reported the following, which were 
unanimously adopted : 

" ' Whereas, We are apprised that secret movements are in progress 
to effect a removal of the county seat in Elk County, by privately circu- 
lating petitions in certain sections of the county, and simultaneous efforts 
by one or more individuals at Harrisburg (who are personally and pecu- 
liarly interested) to procure hasty and (of course) unfair legislation, to 
effect their object, that as citizens of Elk County, we regard such a course 
as an attempt to forestall and coerce legislation as impolitic, unfair, and 
mischievous. Impolitic, as the county is yet new, population sparse, and 
the county buildings already erected and finished, the location con- 
venient, and fixed by commissioners appointed by a former Legislature. 
Unfair, as the grounds were conveyed and the buildings constructed 

648 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

principally by private donations, insuring but little expense compara- 
tively to the county. Mischievous, inasmuch as changing the county 
seat, when judiciously and legally located with regard to present and 
future conveniences, would be establishing a precedent which in a few 
years may again agitate the citizens of the county whenever aspiring and 
interested land-holders, or the more subtle and private intriguing of the 
temporary sojourn may see fit again to disturb its location, its prospects, 
or permanency. With these views we do, as citizens of Elk County, 

^^ ' Resolve, That v/e will use our best endeavors to defeat any and 
every attempt to remove the seat of justice of Elk County from its present 
location ; and that our representatives in the Senate and Assembly are 
earnestly requested to interpose their influence in exposing its nature and 
injustice. 

" ' Resolved, That copies of the proceedings of this meeting be trans- 
mitted to the Hon. Timothy Ives, of the Senate, and A. I. Wilcox, 
Esq., of the Assembly, and the proceedings published in the Union at 
Harrisburg, and in the Jeferson Democrat and Elk County Advertiser,' o{ 
Brookville. 

" ' Signed by the officers. 

" ' February 6, 1849.' 

"At a very large and general meeting of the people of Elk County, 
held on the nth of February, 1S49, during court week, in the court- 
house at Ridgway, Hon. E. C. Winslow was called to the chair, and 
John Johnston and Edward McQuone were appointed secretaries. 

"On motion of George Weis, Esq., a committee of seven was appointed 
by the chair to prepare resolutions in regard to the expediency of re- 
moving the county seat. 

"The following gentlemen were appointed as the committee, — viz., 
Joseph F. Comely, C. F. Law, Bob Weed, Patrick Malone, Rasselas W. 
Brown, James Mcintosh, and Alfred Pearsall, who reported the following 
preamble and resolutions : 

" ' Whereas, A {e\\ persons, mostly inhabitants of or visitors to 
Ridgway, met in the court-house on the 20th of January, and without 
notice to the citizens at large, passed resolutions in favor of retaining 
the county seat at Ridgway, in the name of the citizens of the county, 
but without their knowledge, presence, or authority, which resolutions 
have been published in the newspapers, and are circulated to deceive the 
Legislature ; 

"'And whereas, The settled and permanent inhabitants of Elk 
County are almost unanimous in desiring the removal of the county 
seat, aware that it was located at Ridgway by unfair means and improper 
influence, and that its continuance there is burthensome, expensive, in- 
convenient, and unjust ; 

42 649 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" ' And whereas, The borough of St. Mary's offers a location proper 
and convenient in all respects for the county seat ; therefore we, the 
people of Elk County, assembled during court from township, and em- 
bracing most of the citizens of the county, without distinction of 
party, do 

" •' Resolve, That we repudiate the proceedings of the meeting above 
referred to, and repel the insult offered us by persons whose only power 
lies in their presumption, pretending to speak in our names, but without 
our knowledge or authority, and in direct opposition to our views, wishes, 
and interests; and especially do we disown the acts of strangers and tem- 
porary sojourners who have participated in these proceedings. 

" ' Resolved, That we have carefully examined and thoroughly approve 
the bill for removing the county seat from Ridgway to St. Mary's, with- 
out expense to the county, because Ridgway is near the western limits of 
the county, distant many miles from the mass of the population, a place 
having no agricultural country to support it, without trade or manufac- 
tures, containing no internal means of increase, affording only the most 
insufficient accommodations for visitors, and in all respects improper, in- 
convenient, and expensive. While St. Mary's is a large and growing 
town, surrounded by a large and flourishing country, central both geo- 
graphically, and, in reference to population, convenient, easy of access, 
having excellent hotels, stores, mechanics of all kinds, and is in all 
respects the only fit and proper place for the county seat. 

" ' Resolved, That we call on the representatives of the people in the 
Senate and House to respect the popular will and to use their best exer- 
tion to procure forthwith the removal of the county seat from its present 
improper location to the borough of St. Mary's. 

" ' Resolved, That these proceedings be laid before both branches of 
the Legislature by their respective speakers and published in t\\Q Jeffer- 
sonian, MeKeaii Yeoman, Democratic Union, Keystone, and fntelligcncer 
at Harrisburg.' 

'' The resolutions and the question of the removal of the county seat 
were debated at length by William A. Stokes, Esq., and Reuben Wins- 
low, Esq., in favor of, and Hon. James L. Gillis, and Henry Souther, 
Esq., against the removal. 

" The question being taken, the resolutions and preamble were 
adopted by a large majority. 

" E. C. WiNSLOW, 

" Chairman.'' 
"a night in the north. 

" Mr. Brady: Having occasion to visit Ridgway, the county seat of 
Elk County, this week, I was so amused with some of the performances 
which were transacted during my stay that I cannot refrain from giving 
you a report for the columns of your paper. The scenes were rich, and 

650 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

if I should rub rather close on some individuals I hope they will excuse 
me. But to my story. 

" It was court week, or rather the week appointed for court ; but, as 
there was no president judge, and only one associate in attendance, no 
business could be transacted. I observed that a general feeling of dis- 
satisfaction prevailed, and many, indeed, were the imprecations heaped 
upon the president judge. But I shall leave those interested to settle 
this matter among themselves and pass on to something more interesting. 

" About two or three o'clock on Monday afternoon I observed a num- 
ber of sleds and sleighs coming into town, loaded with Germans; my 
first impression was that an emigrant vessel had just landed, but on in- 
quiry I was informed that it was ' Gulliver and the Lilliputians' coming 
to remove the county seat, and that they were going to have a meeting 
in the court-house that evening for the purpose. 

"After supper, in company with several others, I went to the court- 
house, anticipating some fun, as I had learned that several ' big guns' 
would be there ; and sure enough, there they were, ready primed, and 
only waiting the application of the torch to send forth their powerful 
discharges. 

"As we entered we found that the meeting had already been organ- 
ized, although it was quite early ; and after a few minutes' conversation 
among those gathered in the centre of the bar, a motion was made that 
a committee of six be appointed to draft a preamble and resolutions 
expressive of the sense of the meeting, etc. 

" I observed the president reach out his hand and receive a small slip 
of paper, from which he read the names of the committee. He then 
handed the paper to one of the committee, who took a candle and pro- 
ceeded towards the jury-room ; on arriving at the door which led into the 
hall he called over the names, but from the slow and reluctant response 
it was evident that the committee had been selected before the meeting 
had been opened. 

" In the absence of the committee a motion was made that William 
A. Stokes, Esq., of St. Mary's, address the meeting. Mr. S. responded 
to the call, and then the ' bear-dance' commenced ; the ball was opened. 

" Mr. Stokes commenced by referring to the preamble and resolutions 
of the meeting held at Ridgway on the 20th of January, ult., asserting 
that an unprovoked and wanton attack had been made by that meeting 
on an absent citizen ; he believed it was intended for him, and if so 
he hurled back the charges to those who made them as false. 

" He appeared ready to defend himself, and called upon the six per- 
sons who framed those resolutions to meet him, as he was prepared to 
meet his accusers face to face. He hoped the opportunity Avould be 
afforded to any of the opposite party to reply to his remarks ; he desired 
them to do so, and he would claim the privilege of answering them. 

651 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Mr. Souther : Mr. President, I was one of those who held that meet- 
ing, and I hurl back the charges of the gentleman who has just addressed 
you with as much fury as they were given. (Tremendous cheers. ) 

" Here such an excitement was created that it was impossible for him 
to proceed. 

"Mr. Stokes hoped the audience would hear Mr. Souther: he had 
called upon him to speak, and he wanted to hear him. The Ridgway 
people had paid attention to him while speaking, and he thought those 
from St. Mary's would be as liberal. 

" Mr. Souther: Mr. President, I am not going to be gagged. I have 
been called upon to speak, and I am going to do it. Just grounds were 
had for holding the meeting on the 20th. Letters received from Harris- 
burg informed them that a strong effort Avould be made at the present 
session to remove the county seat to St. Mary's, and urged the propriety 
of holding meetings and sending on remonstrances immediately. 

" He thought this looked very much like forming legislation without 
giving the citizens of the county an opportunity to canvass the subject. 
He could prove by documents that Mr. Stokes had been at Harrisburg 
boring for the passage of the bill ; while there he called upon Messrs. 
Wilcox, Hastings, McCalmont, and others, asking their support and in- 
fluence in the measure. 

" He (Mr. Stokes) had called upon Mr. Wilcox, and had told him he 
could vote as he pleased ; the bill could be passed without him. Con- 
siderable excitement ensued, which prevented our hearing his further 
remarks. 

" Mr. Stokes admitted that he had been at Harrisburg, and proceeded 
to read a bill which had been read in Senate on the 7th of February by 
Hon. Timothy Ives. 

"The bill provided that the citizens of St. Mary's should procure a 
suitable lot of ground for the erection of public buildings ; they should 
erect a good and sufficient court-house and public offices, under the 
supervision of a committee appointed for that purpose, and should also 
erect a suitable county prison, to be built by direction of the county 
commissioners, by donation, etc. ; and after said buildings were completed 
and accepted the seat of justice of Elk County should cease to be at 
Ridgway, and the public records should be removed and safely deposited 
in the buildings erected for their reception. 

" The same bill also provides that so soon as the county seat shall be 
removed from Ridgway the present public buildings shall be sold and the 
l)roceeds thereof placed in the county treasury ; and that the commis- 
sioners of Elk County shall not pay out any moneys for the erection of 
the new buildings at St. Mary's. 

" Mr. Stokes further said that the population of the county was nearly 
all east of St. Mary's, therefore justice to the citizens demanded a removal. 

652 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

While the country in the neighborhood of Ridgvvay was one unbroken 
forest, that about St. Mary's was fertile and thickly settled. 

" Four hundred farms were already opened and being improved. ( )ne 
man on the Driftwood Branch had to travel sixty-one miles to Ridgway 
when he came to court ; but if the county seat were removed to St. Mary's 
no person would have to travel more than twenty miles. Ridgway, he 
humorously remarked, was twenty one years old, — just of age, — conse- 
sequently full grown, as large as she ever would be ; but St. Mary's, yet 
in her infancy, being only six years old, beat her two hundred to 
one. Petitions had been sent to all parts of the county relative to 
removal. 

" ]Mr. Souther (interrupting) asked if any petitions were at Harris- 
burg previous to the reading of the bill in the Senate. 

" Mr. Stokes said he could not tell, but presumed there were, as they 
were sent through the county on the 27th of January, and ample time 
had passed between that and the 7th of February to have them signed 
and forwarded. After various other remarks, which were not distinctly 
heard, he resumed his seat. 

" Mr. Souther obtained the floor, and dwelt chiefly on the injustice of 
the proposed removal. The question, he said, should be submitted to 
the people : they ought to have an opportunity of deciding upon its 
merits by ballot. He entered into a detail of the manner in which the 
public buildings at Ridgway had been erected. They cost five thousand 
four hundred and thirty-two dollars and thirty-two cents. 

" Of this sum, John J. Ridgway donated three thousand dollars, Dick- 
inson and Wilmarth eight hundred dollars, and James D. (lillis two hun- 
dred dollars. John J. Ridgway advanced to the county one thousand 
dollars in payment of his taxes. 

" Mr. Souther gave it as his opinion that if the public buildings were 
sold and the proceeds placed in the county treasury, the donors could 
bring an action for the recovery of the money, and any panel of jurors 
would decide that it should be refunded. The use of it by the county 
would be nothing less than a bold attempt to rob the givers of the amount 
subscribed. He referred to the project of annexing Shippen township, 
Mclvean County, to Elk, for the purpose of making St. Mary's a more 
central point, and unfolded a scheme which, if carried into effect, would 
ultimately create disturbance in parts then uninterested. 

"The noise again commencing, his concluding remarks could not be 
heard, but, quiet being again in a manner restored, Mr. Stokes obtained 
the floor. 

" He said that Mr. Souther gave it as his opinion that, suits being 
brought, the money donated for the present public could be recovered. 

" Mr. Souther : I did, and I don't charge anything for it. 

" Mr. Stokes : Well, there is one thing, and every lawyer present will 

653 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

bear me out in it, that a lawyer's opinion which he charges nothing for is 
not worth much. (Great cheering). But I will give my opinion, and if 
any one tenders a fee, I will take it. If suits are brought, they w^ill not 
lay, and the donors cannot recover a cent. This is my opinion, and I 
will take a fee in order to make it good. 

"Mr. Souther (interrupting, and handing him a copper coin) said, 
' Mr. Stokes, here is a fee some gentleman requested me to give you.' 

" The applause elicited by this sally was so loud and continued so long 
that the further remarks of Mr. Souther were lost. A tumult then arose. 
Some shouted for Souther and (iillis and others for Stokes. Mr. Gillis 
mounted a table and endeavored to make some remarks of a general char- 
acter, when the committee appeared and asked leave to report. 

"The preamble and resolutions were read by Mr. Reuben Winslow, 
but in so low a tone that a call was made to have them read by a louder 
voice. Mr. Barr then read them, when a motion for their adoption was 
made. 

" Mr. Gillis then resumed his speech in opposition to the resolutions, 
but the noise was so great that I could not hear his remarks sufficiently 
correct to report them, but I heard him say that he had been told by a 
person from St. Mary's that they had the power in Elk County, and they 
were going to make use of it. 

" Here one of the secretaries, dressed in a blue overcoat, rose and 
interrupted him and said, ' You mean me ; I told you so.' 

" Mr. Gillis replied that he mentioned no names, and did not person- 
ally implicate any one, but he had l)een told so, and could prove it. 

"The same person interrupted him, saying, ' You meant me; I can 
tell by the wink of yer eye, Jim Gillis, who you referred to.' 

"Mr. Gillis: If the coat fits, wear it. But it will not do for St. 
Mary's to come out so bold at this early day. 

" Here a call was made for a vote on the resolutions, which was taken, 
but the confusion became so loud that the chairman was unable to de- 
cide upon the vote. 

" Mr. Johnson, of ^^'arren, rose to make a few remarks ; said he felt 
a delicacy in })articipating in a matter which in no way concerned him. 
He thought the measures adopted by the removal party were only calcu- 
lated to breed disturbance and prolong the consummation of their object. 
His sympathies were with the citizens of Ridgway, and believed it would 
l)e an injustice to remove the county seat from its present location. He 
recommended that the passage of the resolutions should not be insisted 
upon, and would move that they be laid upon the table. 

" Several voices : He has no business to make a motion ! He don't 
live in the county I 

"Mr. Gillis: I live in the county. I have a right to speak, and I 
make the motion. 

654 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" Mr. Stokes : I move as an amendment that Mr. Gillis's motion be 
laid on the table. 

" Here a discussion ensued in relation to parliamentary usage (a thing 
very common in such places), in which some half a dozen voices partici- 
pated at the same time. 

" The chairman called for a division of the house on the passage of 
the resolutions, but no division could be made ; the house was too full. 
But it was amusing to see the few of the removal party who understood 
English running to and fro, gathering their flock together. 

'' The chairman then put the motion viva voce, when one of the leaders 
of the 'Lilliputian' band jumped upon the judge's desk and waved his 
hand, when one tremendous, unearthly, unmeaning ' yaw' burst forth, 
which caused the walls of the building to tremble for its fate ; which 
being partially subsided, without calling for the negative, the president 
declared the resolutions passed unanimously. 

" We doubt very much whether the resolutions could have been passed 
fairly, as the largest portion of the meeting was opposed to the removal. 

" Immediately after the announcement of the chairman several persons 
endeavored to obtain the floor, and each party called for its speaker ; but 
before it could be decided which should have it the candles were blown 
out, and all was darkness. 

"A general rush was made for the doors and windows, and if the 
court-house was not removed, we are certain that considerable glass in the 
windows was destroyed. 

" I am sorry that I could not procure a copy of the resolutions, etc., as 
they were no doubt drawn up for publication, but at the time when dark- 
ness prevailed, neither resolutions, president, secretaries, nor anything re- 
lating to them could be found. But I have no doubt the above report 
will be received by your readers as well without as with them. It was a 
' bear fight' certain, and, like the old woman, I did not care which 
whipped, but I am of the opinion that the removal party met with a 
warmer reception than was anticipated, and when I left the next day the 
court house and jail were still in Ridgway. The meeting adjourned to 
meet in two weeks, whether in St. Marys or in Ridgway, I cannot say, 
but if I can get to it I will let you hear from me again. 

" Yours truly, 

" A Rambler. 

" February 22, 1849." 

ELK COUNTY MEETING. 

"At a large meeting of the citizens of Benzinger township and the 
county of Elk generally held at the borough of St. Marys, on Monday 
evening, February 12, 1S49, George Weis, Esq., was called to the chair, 
and Ignatius Garner and James P. Barr were appointed secretaries. 

" William A. Stokes, Esq., in compliance with the unanimous call of 

655 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

the assemblage, addressed them in plain and practical speech on the sub- 
ject of the county seat. 

" Anthony Hanhauser, Esq., moved for the appointment of a commit- 
tee of three to draft resolutions, whereupon the following were appointed : 
Dr. B. D. Holcomb, I. Garner, and A. Volmer, who, having retired, 
reported on their return the following preamble and resolutions : 

" ' Whereas, Petitions now before this meeting from the various town- 
ships of this county, prove by the names thereto, that a large majority of 
the permanent inhabitants and substantial farmers and freeholders of the 
county desire the removal of the county seat from Ridgway to St. Marys, 
and whereas the former location is inconvenient, expensive, and im- 
proper, and the latter location is central, easy of access, convenient, and 
suitable in all respects ; and whereas, we are able, willing, and ready to 
erect the public buildings without cost to the county, by individual and 
private subscription ; therefore, 

" ' Resolved, That we unite in application to the Legislature for the 
removal of the seat of justice of Elk county from Ridgway to St. Mary's, 
according to the provisions of the bill before the Senate. 

" 'Resolved, That the attempt of a part of the small population of 
Ridgway to anticipate expected action of those who are favorable to the 
removal of the county seat and to forestall public opinion on this has 
been ludicrously ineffective, except in so far as it has precipitated what 
otherwise might have been delayed, a movement of the people to an end 
always desired by them, the removal of the county seat from Ridgway, 
where it was located against their wishes, and by intrigue and arrange- 
ment, directed only to answer the selfish purposes and private ends of a 
few interested individuals. 

" ' Resolved, That the people of this county feel quite competent to the 
management of their own business, and consider it derogatory to their 
character that gentlemen from other States, and other persons, not resi- 
dents of this county, should have largely participated in the efforts made 
to keep the county seat at Ridgway. 

" ' Resolved, That the will of the pepple should always be the supreme 
law, and that what the citizens of this county desire in regard to the re- 
moval of the county seat should be done without respect to the influence 
of wealth, or the representations of self-appointed leaders, who have for 
years, by the mere power of presumption, managed all the public affairs 
for their own private ends ; and we call on our senators and representa- 
tives in the General Assembly to hear and respect that popular voice 
which at the polls is decisive, and now emphatically demands that justice 
be done to the oppressed people of this county, by removing the courts 
and offices from the inconvenient, exi)ensive, and improper location at 
Ridgway to the central and convenient point which the borough of St. 
iMary's presents, free of cost for that purpose.' 

656 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

" The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

" On motion of George F. Schaefer, a committee was appointed to 
attend to the petitions and other business connected with the removal of 
the county seat. 

"The following gentlemen constituted the committee: J- Walker, 
Charles Fisher, G. Schaefer, (r. Schcening, X. Brieberger, J. Fitzpatrick, 
J. Dill, A. Pearsall, E. C. Winslow, A. Fochtmann, M. Spuler, J. Schaus, 
J. Ganser, M. Schissle, A. Ostermann, M. Wellendorf, L. Stockmann, A. 
Andrews, L. Diez, Dr. Sap, M. Munich, P. Steavens, M. Frey, J. Seel, 
A. Hoffman, J. Meyer, John A. Durgind, David Hubbard, James C. 
Parkhurst, S. B. Gardner, C. Clinton, John Keller, A\'illiam Rodroch, 
William Hicks, and William Myers. 

"On motion of Mr. William A. Stokes, Esq., 

" ' Resolved, That copies of these proceedings be sent to the Senate and 
House of Representatives, and be published in the Jefferson Democrat, 
McKeaii Yeoman, Harrisburg Union, and Philadelphia Pe/insylvanian.' 

" George Weis, 

" Chairman^ 

PUBLIC MEETING IN KERSEY. 

"At a large meeting, held at Kersey, on the 3d of March, 1S49, 
Joseph T. Comely, Esq., was called to the chair, and C. Spely and P. 
Malone were appointed secretaries. 

"A committee, consisting of John T. Comely, Matthew McEwen, 
and Charles Lewis, was appointed to prepare resolutions, who reported 
the following, which were considered and unanimously passed : 

" ' Resolved, That the county of Elk, being poor and thinly settled, it 
is particularly important that the public expenses should be as moderate 
as possible, and with this view the seat of justice should be central and 
convenient to the mass of the people, and not (as it is at Ridgway) on 
one side of the county and remote for the people generally, thereby sub- 
jecting the county for the public charges and the citizens for their private 
expenses, to great and unnecessary loss and inconvenience. 

" ' Resolved, That we are in favor of repairing the great injustice which 
was done by locating the county seat at Ridgway, and of removing it 
from that place at the earliest moment to St. Mary's. 

"' Resolved, That we protest against a division of this county, — a 
movement made for the mere purpose of retarding the removal of the 
seat of justice. The county is already too small, and if reduced in size 
and the courts are held at Ridgway, the taxes will necessarily be increased 
to a most ruinous and oppressive extent. 

" ' Resolved, That we hereby instruct our Senator and Representative 
to use all honorable means to carry out these views by having the bill for 
that purpose passed without delay, according to the resolutions of the 
county meeting, which truly represented and fairly spoke the views, in- 

657 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

terests, and opinions of the large majority of the people of the county, 
who are in favor of the removal of the seat to St. Mary's.' 

"The meeting was addressed by William A. Stokes, Esq., Joseph T. 
Comely, Patrick Malone, Edward McQuone, and Charles Lewis. 

" On motion, ' Resolved, That these proceedings be communicated to 
the Legislature, and be published in the Philadelphia Spirit of the Times, 
Harrislnirg Keystone and Intelligencer, McKean Yeoman, and Brookville 
Jeiferson Democrat. ' 

"J. T. Comely, 

" Chairman.''' 

Meetings were held in Fox and other townships, of which there is no 
printed record. 

During the progress through the State Legislature of the bill for the 
removal of the county seat of Elk County, an important amendment was 
proposed by the Hon. Timothy Ives, repaying to the donors the whole 
amount of money expended by them in erecting the present county 
buildings. 

The bill being brought up on second reading in the Senate on Mon- 
day, the 26th of March, Mr. Ives offered an amendment so as to make 
the fifth section read as follows : 

" The commissioners of Elk County are hereby required, so soon as 
the aforesaid seat of justice is removed, to sell the court-house and jail of 
Ridgvvay, and to pay the proceeds thereof to the several persons who 
have contributed towards the erection and completion of said buildings ; 
the balance, if any, to be paid into the county treasury, for the use of 
said county," which was agreed to. 

The bill, as amended, was then read a second time (yeas, fifteen ; 
nays, ten), and afterwards a third time, and passed finally. 

Colonel A. I. ^^'ilcox, who is still living in his eightieth year, was 
opposed to the change, and the removal act failed in the House. This 
agitation in Elk County started an epidemic of "removal of county 
seats." A petition was introduced in the Senate of Pennsylvania asking 
the removal of the county seat from Warren to Youngsville. Agitators 
were desirous to remove the county seat from Smethport, McKean County, 
the county seat from Clearfield to Curwensville, and from Brookville to 
Punxsutawney. The cause of this agitation was land speculation and the 
" cursed love of gold." 

LOCAL HLSTORY. 

PIONEERS OF RIDGWAV TOWNSHIP, ELK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AS PER 
ASSESSMENT IN 1 843, IN JEFFERSON COUNTY SEATED LIST. 

Names of Taxables. — AMlliam Armstrong, Watts Anderson, Thomas 
(Iraniff, Pierce T. 15rooks, Kphraim llarnes, David Benninger, William S. 
Brownell, William Crow, James Cochran, John C. Clark, Jesse Cady, 

65S 



PIONEER HIST(3RY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

James Crow, John Cobb, Job Carr, William H. Clyde, Absalom Conrad, 
'Squire Carr, William Daugherty, Henry Dull, Caleb Dill, George Dick- 
inson, Eli Frederick, John Evans, Daniel Fuller, Ridgway O. Gillis, 
Caroline Gillis, James L. Gillis, Silas German, Rufus Galusha, Enos 
Gillis, William H. Gallegher, James Gallegher, Esq., Charles Gillis, Rich- 
ard Gates, Miles German, Arthur Hughes, Peter Hardy, Joseph S. Hyde, 
Ralph Hill, Charles H. & L. Horton, Frederick Heterick, Chester Hayes, 
Harvey Hoyt, Hughes (S: Dickinson, James A. Johnston, Henry Karns, 
Frederick Kiefer, Benjamin Kiefer, John Knox, Reuben Lyles, Thomas 
Lynn, Ebenezer Lee, William McLatchey, Erasmus Morey, John Mc- 
Latchey, Joseph Meffert, William Meade, Horace Olds, Riverus Prindle, 
Paine (S: Watterson, Chester Paine, (ieorge Phillips, Willoughby Redline, 
D. S. Ramsey, Amos Sweet, John Snyder, John Sharley, George L. 
Smith, Samuel Stoneback, Ephraim Shawl, James Shawl, David H. & L. 
Thayer, Cornelius Van Orsdale, Jamison ^'easey, Van Schirk, Elisha 
Weaver, David Worden, Maria '\^'ilcox, Boston Lumber Company. 

THE FIRST PAPERS PUBLISHED. 

As I have given you the history of the first paper published in the 
county, — viz., the Elk Advocate, — I will now give the name of the first 
paper published for the county, — viz., i\\Q Jeffe/son Democrat and Jeffer- 
S071 and Elk County Ad^'ertiscr. 

This paper was published every Wednesday morning, in Brookville, 
by Evans R. Brady and Clark Wilson ; terms, one dollar and fifty cents 
a year. This paper was published to and ended with the issue of April 
6, 1850. I find in vol. iv.. No. i, of \\\q Jeffersonian, in the issue of 
January 5, 1848, the following : 

'' Having made arrangements with some of the officers of Elk County 
to furnish blanks, to do their advertising, etc., we have changed the 
name of our paper to suit this arrangement." 

I see by the paper that David Thayer was sheriff, Charles Horton, 
prothonotary, and Henry Souther, treasurer. 

The only item of interest that I can find in these papers is in rela- 
tion to two or three Democratic meetings in Ridgway. 

The total vote of the county in 1S4S was four hundred and twenty- 
eight. 

THE FIRST POLITICAL, .MEETING. 

The first political gathering in Ridgway of which there is any pub- 
lished record was held in the court-house, February 28, 1S48. It was 
a Democratic meeting. Hon. Isaac Horton was appointed president, 
Nathaniel Hyatt and John S. Brockway, vice-presidents, and Charles 
Horton and ^^^ A. Simpson, secretaries. 

The object of the meeting having been stated by S. M. Burson, Esq., 
on motion, a committee of eight — viz., Thomas Dent, Samuel Overturf, 

659 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

John Mead, H. Reburger, Joseph Taylor, Joseph S. Hyde, Isaac Keefer, 
and Thomas Irwin — was appointed to draft resolutions. 

In their absence, B. Rush Petrii<en and D. B. Jenks addressed the 
meeting at length. 

A. I. Wilcox Avas appointed delegate to the 4th of March convention 
as representative delegate. 

The committee returned and reported the following preamble and 
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

"Whereas, The sovereign power of this government, vested in the 
people of these United States, is again to be called into action in the 
choice of agents through whom this power is to be exercised, it becomes 
the pleasure and duty of freemen by a public expression of their will, to 
announce to the world the principle by which they will be governed in 
the selection of their agents, therefore, 

^^ Resolved, That we will sustain our present administration in all its 
measures, and that we will support no man for office who will not carry 
out the same in principle and in detail. 

" Resolved, That those who denounce the present war and give aid and 
comfort to the enemy secure for themselves present shame and eternal 
infamy. 

^'Resolved, That the Hon. James Buchanan, by his dintinguished 
services and unwavering fidelity to the principles of the Democratic 
party, has secured our entire confidence, and that we will reward him for 
his services by using our influence to secure his nomination for the Presi- 
dency ; and that our representatives be, and they are hereby instructed, 
to give him their support at the 4th of March convention. 

^'■Resolved, That our delegates to the 4th of March convention be 
instructed to support Timothy Ives for canal commissioner. 

"On motion, Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions be 
transmitted to John S. McCalmont and A. I. Wilcox. 

" On motion, Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be pub- 
lished in the Democratie Union at Harrisburg, and in all the Democratic 
papers in this senatorial district. 

"On motion. Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be 
signed by the officers. 

" Isaac Horton, 

President. 
Charles Horton, 
W. A. Simpson, 

Secretaries. 
Nathaniel Hyatt, 
John S. Brockwav, 

I'ice Presidents." 
660 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The pioneer court held in the county was at Caledonia, twenty miles 
east of Ridgway, on the Milesburg and Smethport turnpike, in Jay town- 
ship. The judges present were ; Associates, James L. Gillis and Isaac 
Horton ; Prothonotary, etc., W. J. B. Andrews ; Commissioners, Reuben 
Winslow, Chauncey Brockway, and a Mr. Brooks. But little business was 
transacted. Attorneys present : George R. Barrett, Ben. R. Petriken, 
and Lewis B. Smith. The first court held in Ridgway was in the school- 
house, February 19, 1844, Alexander -\IcCalmont, president judge ; Isaac 
Horton, associate judge ; and Eusebius Kincaid, sheriff. 

The pioneer court crier was Nathaniel Hyatt, from Kersey, and, like 
everybody else in those days, was fond of attending court, for the sake 
of visiting, seeing the judge, telling stories, and "smiling with his 
neighbors." 

Mr. Hyatt was a large man, peculiar, and had a coarse voice. Judge 
McCalmont, of Venango, was on the bench, a very easy-going, mild- 
mannered man. 

One day, while the court was in session, Mr. Hyatt, in a loud tone of 
voice, was busy telling stories to his neighbors in the court-room. The 
judge thought there was a little too much noise, and, to personally repri- 
mand Mr. Hyatt, he commenced " a rapping, gently tapping, tapping" 
three times on the desk, and addressing Mr. Hyatt thus : " Crier, there 
is a little too much noise in court." 

Promptly Mr. Hyatt responded by stamping his right foot violently 
on the floor, and, in his loud, coarse voice, exclaimed, "Let there be 
silence in court ! What the h — are you about?" 

E.-\RLV RAILROADS. 

The Sunbury and Erie Railroad, now the Philadelphia and Erie, was 
chartered April 3, 1S37, but it was not until about 1852 that construc- 
tion was commenced, and it was not completed until about the fall of 
1864. 

In the speculative times of 1S36 non-residents of then Jefferson 
County bought largely of the wild lands in and around Ridgway town- 
ship, which, of course, when railroad and other bubbles burst, was left 
on their hands. This land had been advertised to contain valuable iron 
ore and bituminous coal, and much of it could have been bought as late 
as 1 85 1 at fifty cents an acre. 

To build a railroad through a dense wilderness of worthless hemlock, 
ferocious beasts, gnats, and wmtergreen berries, required a large purse 
and great courage. Of course, there was no subject talked about in the 
cabin homes of that locality so dear to the hearts of the pioneers as this 
railroad. Living, as they were, in the backwoods, they were perfectly 
excusable when the subject of railroads was broached, even if they did 
cut all kinds of fantastic tricks. 

661 



PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA. 

The first railroad meeting held in Ridgway, Elk County, was in the 
fall of 1845. Gentlemen were present from Erie, Warren, McKean, 
Centre, Philadelphia, and other counties. The deliberations were held 
in the old school-house, and there the road was constructed in words, as 
it was all through the seasons for years afterwards. 

In any event, I suppose those railroad barons enjoyed tliemselves in 
Ridgway, and were fed on elk-steak for breakfast, blackberry-pie for 
dinner, speckled trout and bear meat for supper, with nothing stronger 
to drink than sassafras ica. This generous diet, in sleep at least, would 
build railroads. 

1852 was the railroad era. Engineers surveyed the route through 
Ridgway for the Allegheny Valley Railroad, the Venango Road, and the 
Sunbury and Erie Road. Numerous other railroads were talked about, — ■ 
viz., the Clearfield and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg. In antici- 
pation of the completion of all these railroads, I suppose, the county 
commissioners, in September of this year, erected a stone wall aroimd the 
jail-yard two feet thick and fourteen feet above the ground, and to civil- 
ize the Whistletown section for these iron horses, my old friend, B. F. 
Ely, Esq., in this month, killed three bears in fifteen minutes. 

EARLY HOME OF THE WH.D PIGEON. 

In 1845, Ridgway township was the nesting and roosting home of the 
wild pigeon. There was a roost at or near what is now Bootjack, one 
near Whistletown, and another near Montmorenci. These big roosts 
were occupied early in April each year. They were usually four to five 
miles long and from one to two miles wide. Every tree would be occu- 
pied, some with fifty nests. The croakings of the pigeons could be heard 
for miles. 

The wild pigeon laid one or two eggs, and both birds did their share 
of incubating, the female from two i'..M. until nine a.m., and the male 
then to two p.m. These roosts were great feeding- places for animals as 
well as for man. As late as 1S51 the American Express Company car- 
ried in one day, over the New York and Erie Railroad, over seven tons 
of pigeons to the New York markets. A wild pigeon can fly from five 
hundred to one thousand miles in a day. 

Like the buffalo and elk of this region, the wild pigeon has been 
doomed. 



662 



INDEX. 



Abolition meetings, 274; law, 268 

Abolitionists, early, 275 

Academy, 507 ; trustees of, I9S 

Advertisements, 623 

Advocate, 626, 627, 644 

Agriculture, pioneer, 152, 153 

Algerines, 535 

Allegheny Portage Railroad, 326; town, 

58 
Allegheny River lands, 48 
American Anti-Slavery Society, 268 
Amusements, 161, 440,441, 479, 526, 530, 

555 

Animals, S8-100, 442; natural life of, loi 

Apprentices, indentured, 284-296, 539 

Armstrong, Colonel, 34 

Armstrong, Jesse, 435-437 

Assembly acts, 43, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 57, 
60, 85, 87, 91, 124, 126, 130, 132, 136, 
13S, 141, 142, 191, 193, 194, 198, 20c- 
203, 205, 207, 210, 211, 214, 270, 272, 
286-290, 304, 314, 340, 358, 360, 363, 
365. 373. 375. 380, 384, 385, 421, 433, 
459, 461, 470, 4S8, 489, 492, 496, 497, 
499.504,550.588,611,613,646 

Associate Reformed Church, 246 

Atlee, Samuel John, 43 

Atly, Lieutenant, 39 

Audenried, Senator, 209 

Backwoodsman, The, 412 
Bald Eagle, 102, 126, 137, 140 
Baltimore Conference, 253 
Bank-note detector, 299, 553 
Bank of Maryland, 297 
Banks, pioneer, 298 
Baptist church, 259-262 
Barclay, Rev. David, 208 
Barnett, Andrew, 120, 193, 195, 423 
Barnett, Joseph, 9, 32, 84, 116, 117, 120, 
121, 193, 105, 410, 570, 575 



1 Barnett township, 460 

Barring-out, 551 
i Barry, William T., 441 
I Bear- pen, 93 
; Bear-skins, 92 

Beaver, county of, 58 
j Beaver dam, building of, 89 
I Beaver Meadow, 88 
I Beechwoods church, 242 
j Bee-hunting, II i-i 14 
j Bee-trees, 112 
1 Bethel church, 237-239, 241 

Bethesda church, 243 

Bienville, Celeronde, 132 

Bingham, William, 80 

Bird, Colonel, 169 

Birds, loi-iio, 158 

Birthday, celebration of, 475-4S1 

Blood, Cyrus, 472 

Blood settlement, 474 

Bonnecamp, Father, 132 

Bounty, 90, 375, 379, 626 

Braddock, General, 335 

Braddock's road, 335 

Brady, Captain, 30, 35 

Breck, Senator, 209 

Brick-yard, 455 

Bridges, 328,329,453 

Bridges and roads, county, 348, 357 

Brodhead, General, 30 

Brookville, 243, 558; church, 254; church 
mission, 260; Academy, 380 ; Female 
Seminary, 380; Repttblican, 410; bor- 
ough, 496; pioneer resurrection, 598- 
610 

Brown, Major-General Jacob, 172 

Bryan, George, 270 

Building, raising a, 521 

Burnside, Hon. Thomas, 323, 365, 366 
' Burnside, Judge William, 499 
i Burrowes, Thomas H., 200, 214, 221 



66^ 



INDEX. 



Campaign of 1S64, 593-59S 

Canal, 326, 327 

Candles, making of, 544 

Canoe Place, 42 

Canoes, 567 

Carding-mill, 469 

Carmalt, Isaac P., 281 

Catholic church, 262 

Census, 206, 226, 227, 493, 537, 555 

Centre Furnace, 181 

Chain-carriers, 84 

Cheny Tree, 42, 79, 82 

Chimney-sweeps, 503 

Churches, 237-265, 433, 459, 487, 

632 
Civil war, 26S 
Clark, William, 212 
Clarke, Dr. A. M., 466 
Clocks, 545 
Clothes, 160, 161, 441 
Clover, Judge Peter, 116 
Clover, Levi G., 523 
Clover township, 487 
Coal, 228, 326, 479, 492, 495, 556, 630, 

635 
Coinage, first, 297 
Coleman, Professor J. iSI., 198 
Colonial records, 29 
Commissioners, auditors, and collectors, 

names of, 195 
Concord church, 243 
Conewango Creek lands, 48 
Congress, 297 

Constables, early, 223, 224, 226, 367 
Continental Congress, 44, 269 
Conventions, 305, 306, 307 
Convictions, 426 
Cooking, 527, 52S 
Cooper, Benjamin B,, 451 
Cooper lands, 451 
Copper, 28 
Cornplanter, 560-565 
Counties, 48, 1S5, 186, 191, 192, 332, 

333 
County rates, 207 ; seat, 58 
County seat fight, 649-659 
Courts, 364, 365, 553 
Court-houses, 473, 513, 530 
Coxson John K., 28 
Cra7i'/ord JVcekh' Messenger, 342 
Cumberland church, 244 



Delaware Indians, 16, 18, 21-23, 27, 30^, 
31, 71, 72, 74, 79, 129, 130, 183, 229, 

231. 233, 335. 511 
Denial College, 554 

Deputy surveyors, 51, 53, 54, 57-59, S2-S4 
Dinwiddie, Governor, 1 15 
Dissection, 604, 606 
Distillery, 121,423, 523 
District lines, 79-88 
Dixon, John, 616 
Doctor, description of, 393 
Drainage, 18S 
Dress, 153, 154 
Drink, 160 

Eagles, golden, 103 

Early, Dr. C. R., 635 

Earthquake, 422 

Eclipse of the sun, 422 

Education, acts, 201-204 ; law of 1809, 

203 ; general system of, 207 ; committee 

on, 209, 210; of women, 54S 
Ejectment, 157 
Eldred township, 470 
Elections, 210, 211, 304, 305, 422, 428, 

433. 434, 454. 456, 461, 469, 481, 486, 

488, 489, 492, 493, 497, 498, 505, 538, 

539, 540 
Electors, 211, 212, 433 
Elk, county of, 454 
Ellicott, Andrew, 127, 138 
Ellicott, Joseph, 127 
England, common law of, 172, 173 
Erie Conference, 253, 254 
Erie triangle, purchase of, 57 
Ettwein, Rev. John, 41, 234, 237 
Express business, 228 

Factory, woollen, 491 ; furniture, 501 ; 

harness, 501 
Fair-Play Men, 49 
Farming implements, 152, 157 
Fawns, capture of, 96 
Female workers, 54S 
Fence law, 151 ; viewers, 489 
Fenton, Colonel Janres, 172 
Fettez-man, N. B., 209 
Fields, Rev. Mr., 237 
Findlay, James, 212 
Fines for misdemeanors, 425-427 
Fireplace in 1840, 527 



664 



INDEX. 



First steamer, 269 

Fish, kinds of, 15S 

Five Nations, 27, 28, 78 

Fleming, John, 143 

Flint, uses of, 26 

Floods, 134 

FIoiu-, 28 ; mill, 500 

Fogle, Mother, 256 

Forbes, General John, 338 

Forbes road, 338 ; trail, 137 

Forest- trees, 190 

Fort Bedford, 39 ; Duquesne, 30, 35, 335 ; 

Franklin, 560; Granville, 184; Harmar, 

560; Le Boeuf, 58, 59 ; Ligonier, 36, 39; 

Mcintosh, 46, 57, 60, 70, 71, 75, 79, 80 ; 

Pitt, 57,58, 137, 138,335; Potter, 118; 

Stanwix, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 60, 61, 70, 

71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 79,560; Venango, 

32, 183, 230 
Forts, magazines, and dock-yards, 59 
Foundry, pioneer, 501 

Fourth of July, 162,321,417,543,632-635 
Fox, George, 143 

Franklin, Benjamin, 52; house, 320, 321 
French and Indian war, 30 
French Creek, 59 
Friedenschnetten, mission settlement at, 

233 
Friedenstudt, mission established at, 234 
Frolic, kicking, 442 
Fruits, 159 

Fulton steamboat, 228 
Furs, price of, 99 

Gaskill, Charles C, 87, 88, 123 
Gaskill township, 4S8 
Game, 122 
Gazette, The, 409 
Geiger, Lieutenant, 39 
General Assembly, report of, 45 
Geological structure, 190, 19 1 
Germans, importation of, 289, 291, 294 
German Redemptioners, 291, 29.), 295, 

296 ; settlement, 454 
Gigging, 158 

Gillis, Hon. James L., 447, 526, 627 
Girard College, 209 
Gist, Christopher, 334 
Government, Proprietary, 80 
Graham, M. Elijah, 84, 169 
Gramjiian Hills, 440 

43 



Grand jurors, 366 

Graveyards, 85, 122, 23S, 241, 424, 425, 

469, 489, 492, 502 
Grist-mill, 429, 433," 447, 467, 469, 491, 

492, 501, 566, 571, 622 

Habits of game, 589-591 

Hail-storm, 422 

Hall, Thomas, 531 

Hamilton, Alexander, 296 

Harmer, Colonel, 57 

Harris P'erry, 40 

Harvest-time, 152 

Hawkins, Sir John, 268 

Haying, 153 

Heath, Judge, 208, 531 

Heck, Barbara, 252 

Heckewelder, Rev. John, 40, 232 

Henderson, Judge, 526 

Highways, 371, 383; supervisor of, 202 

Hoffman, Dr. Fred., 168 

Holland Land Company, 86, 87, 168, 567 

Hollow-eve, 545 

Honey, securing of, 1 14 

Horse-racing, 454, 458 

Hotels, 433, 514, 532 

Houses, early, 558, 559 

Hunters, 430, 453, 466, 472, 475, 491, 

513.576,585,586,588,589,625,626 
Hunting, still-, 98 
Hurly-burly, 164 
Hutchinson, Joseph, 120, 121, 151, 423 

Incidents, interesting, 227-229 

Independent Greens, 542 

Indi n, rulers of tribes, 12, 13; heirship, 
13; religion, family relations, 14; fu- 
neral customs, 15, 16; bark-peeling, 
16; hut-building, 16, 17; marriage, 18; 
travelling, 18, 19; amusements, 19; 
war-dance, 19, 20; medical customs, 
20, 21; wars, weapons, 21-24, 335; 
declaration of war, 22, 23 ; canoe, run- 
ners, antiquities, 25 ; household and 
war implements, 24-26; intemperance, 
27, 29, 30; trails, 28, 115, Il6, 182, 
183; council, 30; corn, 32; captives, 
35, 116, 122, 184; relics, 32, 538; con- 
ference, 45 ; deed of lands, 46, 68 ; 
claims, 48; treaties, 29, 60-78, 79; 
price for land, 80 



66 = 



INDEX. 



Indiana .hucrican, 410 

Jjidiana Free Press, 457 

Indians, families of Iroquois, 12-32 ; last 
ramble among, 26 ; Virginia, 26 

Ingersoll, General, 56 

Institution for insane, 269 

Irish settlement, 247, 248 

Iron Bar Ripple, 182 

Iron ore, 180, 492; furnace, iSi ; ship- 
ping, 181, 182 

Iroquois Indians, 12-32 

Irvine, General William, 59, 60, 127, 138 

Jack, Judge William, 523 

Jefferson Blues, 416,417,419,420; church, 
247 

Jefferson County, 371, 372, 375-380; 
Graphic, topography, 121 ; rattlesnake, 
167 ; area, name, 1 85 ; map, 186 ; geog- 
raphy, 187; jails, 198, 239, 513, 531; 
year of 1816, flood, 227; officials, 302; 
description of,3ii, 312; statistical table, 
312; taxable inhabitants, 315; land, 
322; townships of, 381-383; highways 

of, 383-391 
Jefferson, Thomas, 57, 152, 296 
Jeffersonian, T/ie, 321, 409 
Jenks, Dr. John W., 391 
Jenks, Judge W. P., 391 
Jenks township, 471 
Jews, slavery among the, 267 
Johnson, Francis, 43 
Jones, John, 569 
Juniata iron, 181 
Jurors, grand, 366 
Justice of the peace, 202, 307, 30S, 425, 

452 
Justice, seat of, 193, 377 

Keystone State, 122 
Knapp, Moses, 566 
Knox, John, 199 
Kyler, Jesse, 635 

Land, fraudulent sale of, 40 ; purchase, 
42 ; grants to associations, 51 ; laws, 55 ; 
office established, 80; holders, 81 ; ele- 
vation of, 188; deed, 195; owners, 541 

Lawanakanuck mission, 233 

Law of 1834, 212, 219; of 1806, 90; of 
1809, 203; of 1705, 588 

Lawrence, Joseph, 214 



Laws, pioneer, 371 ; pamphlet, 315 
Lawyers, 366, 369, 37c, 624 
Legal rights of married women, 172, 547 
Le Roy, Marie, and Barbara Leininger, 

32-40 
Letter postage, 478 
Letters, 43, 81-S4, 138, 139, 144, 146, 170, 

171, 279, 544, 5.94 
Life, description of, 1 19, 120, 4S5, 528, 

529, 553 
Light, artificial, 157, 480, 503 
Lincoln story, a, 594 
Linen, making of, 154 
Liquor introduced, 29 
Local history, 593 
Log church, old, 239, 241 
Logging, 150 
Long, Bill, 576-5S4 

Lottery warrants, 81, 85 ; land-office, 50 
Lumber, 459, 468 
Lumbering, 532, 533 
Luther, Martin, 199 
Lutheran Church, 265 

Maclay, William, 43 

Magna Charta, 269 

Mail route, 341, 343, 345, 447; coach, 339 

Mails, 503, 544 ; robbery of, 345 

Manufactures, 541 

Map, 80, 186 

Maple-sugar industry, 17S-180 ; camp, 17S 

Marshall, Chief Justice, 56, 86 

Marshall, Joseph, 130 

Maryland, Bank of, 297 

Mason and Dixon line, 430 

Mass-meeting, 597 

Matches, making of, 228 

McCalmont, Judge, 545 

McClelland, Major William, 169 

McGarraugh, Rev. Robert, 25S 

McKean, Governor Thomas, 144, 146, 192 

McKnight, Alexander, 313, 500 

McKnight, W. J., 645 

Mead, David, 1 16 

Meade's trail, 115, 116. 121, 137, 424, 575 

Meats, 158 

Medical society, 394 ; college, 269 

Mercer, Colonel, 39 

Methodism, 252 

Methodist Episcopal Chutch, 255 

Methodist paper, 253 



666 



INDEX. 



Mifflin, Thomas, 138 

Mile, Lieutenant, 39 

Mile-stones, 359 

Military officers, 417; company, 434 

Militia, 137, 522; company, 415, 487; 

drills, 416 
Mill Creek, 120, 165, 239, 260 
Mills, 123, 228, 246, 424, 429, 433, 447, 

44S, 449, 452, 455, 456, 459, 461, 467, 

469, 481, 487, 491, 492, 500, 501, 566, 

568, 570, 571, 631 
Ministers, early, 239-256, 259-262, 265, 

266, 391, 392, 423, 474, 484, 524, 625 
Ministers' salaries, 239, 256, 257 
Mint, establishment of, 296 
Missions established, 40 
Mitchell, Judge, 28 
Mitchell, Thomas Sharp, 431, 432 
Montour's Island, 60 
Morgan, William, 447 
Mormon Church, 264 
Mormonism, 264 
Morris, Robert, 80, 86, 296 
Morrow's freight line, 517, 519 
Mowers, 153 
Music teachers, 538 

Napoleon, 172 

National bank, 269 

Newbold, Charles, inventor of plough, 152 

Newlanders, 284 

New Rehoboth and Licking church, 243 

Newspapers, 407-409, 541 

Nicholson, John, 80 

North American Land Company, 55 

Northumberland County Lottery Warrants, 

51 

Noshaken, legend of, 31 

Occupations of the people, 154 

Ocean voyage, 479 

Glean road, 384 

Overseers of the poor, 20i, 202 

Pamphlet laws, 315 
Paradise township, 493 
Patton, Colonel John, 180 
Peale, Charles W., 554 
Penn, William, 29, 81, 185, 617; treaty 
with Indians, government land granted. 



78 



Penn's arrival in 1682, 27 

Penn's Valley, 118 

Pennsylvania, 78, 268-270 ; population, 
330, 331, 479; common school law, 
200; mint, 269; canal, 322 

Pennsylvania Canal and Railroad, 207, 322 

Pennsylvania Population Company, 55, 
56 ; trustees for, 56 

Perry church, 243 

Perry, Commodore, 430 

Perry township, 430 

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, 326 

Philadelphia Gazette, 345 

Philadelphia mint, 297 

Phillips, James, 143 

Physicians, 446, 487, 525, 637, 63S 

Pigeon-roosts, 108, 662 

Pine Creek township, 421 

Pioneer, surveys and surveyors, 78-S8 ; 
animals, 88-100; hunters, 89-94, 96, 
100; trapping, 93; settlement, Il6; 
settlers, 120, 121, 423; explorers, cabin 
and mill, 120; tailors, 153 ; wagons, 153, 
531 ; homes and mode of life, 154-163 ; 
days, 160; tools, 169; songs, 174, 176; 
singing masters, 175; transportation, 
181; court-house, 197; academy, 198, 
507 ; licenses, 222, 223 ; constables, 
223; telegram, gas, steam-vessels, strike, 
228; thanksgiving days, 229; mission- 
ary work, 229-237 ; churches, 237-266; 
circuit riders, 253, 254, 256; temper- 
ance society, 253 ; meetings, 257-259 ; 
train, 269 ; mill, 288 ; money, 296 ; 
banks, 298 ; appeals, 310 ; county bridge, 
328, 329; counties, 332, 333; trading 
house, 334; coach, 338, 339; taverns, 
362, 434, 456, 474, 502, 571; courts, 
364, 365 ; bar, 364 ; lawyers, 366 ; ses- 
sion, 366; highways, 371 ; physicians, 
391-395; society, 394, 395 ; townships, 
396; newspaper, 407-409, 412; print- 
ing-office, 410 ; militia regiment, 414- 
416; military volunteer company, 416, 
434 ; musters, 416 ; marriage, 423 ; hotel, 
433 ; tanneries, 448, 449, 502; railroad, 
452; coal trade, 462; flat-boats, 463- 
465; training-day, 479; census, 493; 
fire-engine, 501 ; court, 662 

Pioneers, names of, 9; first white, 32; 
ancestry of, 1S7 



667 



INDEX. 



Pisgah church, 239, 241, 242 

Pittsburg, 335, 630; Conference, 253; coal 

trade, 462 
Political meeting, 659 
Politics of the county, 525 
Poll-evil, 536 

Population, 184, 185, 206, 330, 331 
Port Barnett, 32, 117, 120, 122, 133, 146, 

181, 237, 428 
Porter township, 486 
Post, Rev. C. Frederick, 36, 229-231 
Post road, 345 ; office, 340-346, 474, 647, 

648; route, 439, 440, 468, 647 
Postage, 342, 345, 544; stamps, 346 
Post's journal, 230, 231 
Potter, Fort, 118 
Presbyterian Church, 237 
Presbytery, 238, 241, 246 
Presque Isle, 57, 58, 126, 137, 138, 

139 
Priest, pioneer, 263 
Primogeniture, 269 
Printing-office, 510 
Public buildings, 377 
Puma, description of, 90 
Punxsutawney, 440; church, 245, 261 
Puritans, 199 
Purvis, Robert, 275 

Rabbits, 526 

Rafting season, 134 

Raftmen, 1 34-136 

Railroad collision, 314; pioneer train, 269; 

history, 661, 662 
Railroads, 478 
Rattlesnakes, 165, 166, 169 
Red Bank, 27, 129, 132, 181, 1S2, 189, 

383 
Registry office, 288 
Reptiles and snakes, 165 
Republican party, 269; celebration, 316- 

319; organization, 619-621 
Reservations, 57 

Revolutionary war, expenses of, 541 
Rewards, 278, 315, 539, 574 
Richland church, 243 
Ridgway, 453; township, 444; mission, 

256; early history, 621 
Ridgway, Jacob, 444 
Rittenhouse, David, 297 
Rivers and creeks, 129-137 



Road, 137-149, 425> 429, 446, 449> 575; 
expenses, 129; appropriation, 139; di- 
rection, 144, 145; review, 146, 147; 
tax, 360, 363, 374, 378 ; obstruction, 364 

Roads, 116, 379; opening of, 124-129; 
improvement of, 148 ; petitions for, 347, 
348 ; roads and^county bridges, 348-357, 

384-391 
Rockland church, 243 
Rodgers, Major William, 182 
Roth, John, 234, 237 

Salaries of teachers, 209, 216, 218, 220, 

228, 530 
Salem, Peter, 269 
Salt territory, 487 
Sand spring, 32 
Saturday, observance of, 195 
Saw-mills, 123, 42S, 429, 433, 448, 452, 

453. 455, 456, 459, 461, 469, 481, 487, 

491, 500, 501, 566, 568, 570, 622 
Schooling, price of, 208, 209 
School-masters, 121, 208, 209, 216, 452, 

474, 482, 491, 506, 507, 519, 549, 551, 
552, 616, 617, 623, 624, 640, 641 
Schools, 121, 20S, 209, 216-222, 425, 428, 

433, 452, 459, 471, 483, 501, 505, 549, 
616,617; Sunday, 242, 252,483,624; 
manual training, 210 
School system, 199; law, 200, 212; tax, 
202, 207, 221 ; fund, 200, 207, 210, 214, 
221, 552; discipline, 204, 550; meet- 
ing, 204; trustees, 204, 380; text-books, 
205, 208, 216, 21S, 549, 552; organizers, 
208, 209, 216, 219, 452; directors, 2II, 
212, 216, 219, 507, 508, 538; age, 213; 
inspectors, 213, 214, 219; attendance, 
216; convention, 220; superintendents, 

471, 483 

Scotch-Irish, 299, 300 

Scott, Samuel, 120, 423 

Screw factory, 182 

Session, pioneer, 366 

Settlements, 173 

Settler, pioneer colored, 272 

Settlers, early. 85, I15-124, 334, 362, 424, 
425, 428, 430, 431, 433, 434, 435, 437, 
444, 446, 447, 448, 452, 455, 460, 467, 
469-471, 474, 481, 486, 487, 488, 490- 

492, 500, 536, 537, 626 
Sheriff, 210, 211 



668 



INDEX. 



Shingle-weavers, 541 
Shippen, Judge, 29, 429 
Shoemakers, 153 
Shooting stars, 32 

Shulze, Governor John A., 134, 551 
Silver, 28 

Six Nations, 12. 27, 29, 30, 42, 44, 46, 57, 
60, 63, 66, 68, 69, 72-74, 79, 116, 234, 

563, 565 
Slavery, 266-268, 480, 537; act for the 

gradual abolition of, 270 
Slave traffic and trade, 276 
Slaves, 268, 275. 282, 283, 294 
Smith, Captain John, 26 
Smith, Joseph, 264 
Smith, Senator, 209 
Snow Shoe, 182 
Snovi' storm, 636 

Snyder, Governor Simon, I49, 204, 466 
Snyder township, 465 
Soldiers of 1812, 169-172 
South Side pioneers, 438 
Spelling-bee, 508 
Spinning, 160 
Stage coach, 33S, 361 ; line, 515, 516, 

627-630 
St. Clair, General, 57 
St. John's Church, 265 
Star-Spangled Banner, 269 
State roads, 137-149, 3S4-391 
Steamboat, 567 
Stevens, Thaddeus, 209, 213 
Stores, 495 

Sugar, 146; making, 572 
Sunday-schools, 242, 252, 4S3 
Surveys and surveyors, 51, 53, 54, 57-59, 

82-84, 140 
Susquehanna and Waterford Turnpike, 

181,384,515 
Swiss settlei's, 291 

Tailors, 153 

Tanneries, 448, 495, 502 

Taverns, 362, 434, 456, 474, 502, 571 

Tax, 207, 562 

Taxables, 177, 178, 396-406, 422, 430, 

434. 444, 454> 4^6, 49°, 658 
Teachers, salaries of, 209, 216, 218, 220, 

228, 550; institute, 614-619, 641-643 
Telegram, pioneer, 228 
Temperance society, 253, 325, 4S5 



Text-books, 205, 208, 216, 218, 549, 552, 

617 
Thanksgiving days, 229 
Timber, 128, 132, 150, 429, 492 ; raft, 429, 

627 
Tiiles and surveys, 78—88 
Tobacco, 146 

Toby's Creek, 133, 136, 449 
Toll-gate, 359 
Toll-gatherers, 360 
Tolls, 360 

Town lots, 58; surveys, 58, 59 
Townships, 215, 396-402, 404, 405, 406, 

444, 465, 493, 495, 630, 646 
Trading house, 334 
Trails, 28, 115, 116, 182, 1S3 
Training-day, 479 
Trapping, 93 
Travis, William, 130 
Treaties, 29, 60-7S, 79, 335, 560 
Trees, 164, 165 

Tschechsehequanink mission, 234 
Turkey, wild, 159 
Turnpike companies, 387-389 
Turnpikes, 138, 35S-360, 363, 372, 374 

Underground railroad, 273, 281, 284, 531 
United Presbyterian Church, 245 
United States, fir.-t coinage of, 297 

Volunteer Rifle Association, 416 

Wagons, 153, 531 

War, cost of, 172 

W^arsaw township, 490 

Washington, George, 57, 115, 169, 296, 

335, 336, 480 
Washington township, 474 
Water routes, 326; works, 546 
Wayne's treaty, 560 
Weddings, 161, 162 
Weiser, Captain, 39 
Weiser, Conrad, 44 
Weiser, Samuel, 44 
Wesley, John, 252 

Westmoreland County, officials of, 302-304 
Wheat, price of, 146, 151 
White, Jacob C, 275 
White, Rev. William, 232 
Wild pigeon, 662 
Wilkins, General, 139 



669 



INDEX. 



Wilson, George, 127 

Windmills, 153 

Wolf, Governor George, 131, 200, 205, 

212, 378,551 
Wolf-pen, 93 
Women lawyers, 54S 
Wood, Jethro, improvement in plough, 

152 
Wood, Major James, 172 



Wright, William, 274 
Wyalusing, 40, 233, 234 

Yeates, Judge, 86 
Young, Brigham, 264 
Young township, 434 

Zeisberger, Rev. David, 40, 23: 
Zion Church, 262 



THE END. 



670 



